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R7. An Education Program for Healthful Living Following Stroke
People who survive stroke are at high risk for recurrent stroke. Many stroke survivors do not understand the cause of stroke, common stroke symptoms, and how to prevent another stroke. They also often cannot identify their own risk factors for stroke. Educating stroke patients and their families about stroke prevention can help reduce stroke-related co-morbidities and deaths. This study investigates whether a stroke education program targeted to stroke survivors and their families during inpatient rehabilitation can have a positive influence on health behaviors, reduce risk for recurrent stroke and heart disease, improve survival, and help individuals maintain maximum independence.
The most effective teaching technique to use for inpatient stroke education is unclear. In the process of searching for the best method for stroke patients to learn, we developed an educational program with two separate venues, a nurse directed presentation and a fifteen-minute video. Each venue teaches the same concepts regarding secondary stroke prevention. We hypothesize that the nurse directed presentation is superior to the video. We also propose that the reinforcement of stroke educational objectives can improve retention of information three or more months following discharge from the rehabilitation hospital, resulting in a higher rate of positive lifestyle changes, improved functional independence and reduced incidence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events.
Efficacy measures include a pre-program test on stroke knowledge and a post-test given immediately after the education. This test is also repeated three months after the first education program. In addition, all participants are asked life style questions pertaining to their access of primary care, diet and social routines before the initial test and at three months follow-up.
Publications:Denby, F. & Harvey, R. Developing an education intervention for stroke rehabilitation patients and their families: Healthy living after stroke. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, in press.