Medicine (Austin & Northern Health) - Research Publications

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    Self-evaluation of personal needs by community-living young stroke survivors using an online English language questionnaire
    Sapuppo, D ; Bernhardt, J ; Carvalho, LB ; Churilov, L ; Thijs, V (TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2023-05-22)
    BACKGROUND: Identifying personal needs of young stroke survivors is crucial for their recovery. PURPOSE: Identify factors, burden, and significance of unmet needs of young community-living stroke survivors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used online advertising and word-of-mouth snowballing to recruit participants for an English language online questionnaire constructed for this purpose. Eligible participants aged 18-55 at time of stroke. Needs were classified into seven domains: Healthcare Experience, Impairments from Stroke, Everyday Activities, Work/Study, Finances, Relationships, and Social Participation. Random-effects logistic regression was used to determine the probability of unmet needs and X2 test to determine significance of distribution across domains. RESULTS: Out of 137 responses recorded: 32 did not meet inclusion criteria, 29 duplicates identified were discarded, and 76 eligible participants were analysed. Respondents were median 37 (IQR 32-47) years at time of stroke, and median 3 (1-5) years since stroke. Fifty-eight (76%) females. Modified Rankin Scale median score of 1 (1-3). Of 48 identified potential needs, 25 (IQR 19-30) were rated unmet. Twenty (IQR 15-25) considered of high significance. Unmet needs most frequently occurred in the domains: Impairments from Stroke, Finances, and Social Participation. CONCLUSIONS: There is high burden of unmet needs in community-living young stroke survivors which are spread disproportionately across the identified domains.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONIdentifying personal needs of young stroke survivors is crucial for their recovery.Impairments after Stroke, Finances, and Social Participation were often selected as being high burden unmet needs for community-living young people after stroke.Employing a post-stroke checklist to guide exploration of needs in young stroke may better capture which needs are unmet.
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    Factors associated with paid employment 12 months after stroke in A Very Early Rehabilitation Trial (AVERT)
    Cain, S ; Churilov, L ; Collier, JM ; Carvalho, LB ; Borschmann, K ; Moodie, M ; Thijs, V ; Bernhardt, J (ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER, 2022-05)
    BACKGROUND: Returning to work is an important outcome for stroke survivors. OBJECTIVES: This sub-study of a randomised controlled trial aimed to provide characteristics of working-age stroke participants and identify factors associated with return to work at 12 months. METHODS: We used paid employment data collected as part of A Very Early Rehabilitation Trial (AVERT, n=2104), an international randomised controlled trial studying the effects of very early mobilisation after stroke at 56 acute stroke units across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore. For the present analysis, data for trial participants < 65 years old were included if they were working at the time of stroke and had complete 12-month return-to-work data. The primary outcome was 12-month return to paid work. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association of multiple factors with return to work. RESULTS: In total, 376 AVERT participants met the inclusion criteria for this sub-study. By 12 months, 221 (59%) participants had returned to work at a median of 38 hr per week. Similar rates were found across geographic regions. On univariable analysis, the odds of returning to paid employment were increased with younger age (OR per year 0.95, 95%CI 0.92-0.97), no previous diabetes (0.4, 0.24-0.67), lower stroke severity (OR per National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale point 0.82, 0.78-0.86), less 3-month depressive traits (Irritability Depression Anxiety [IDA] scale) (OR per IDA point 0.87, 0.80-0.93), less 3-month disability (modified Rankin Scale), and prior full-time work (2.04, 1.23-3.38). On multivariable analysis, return to work remained associated with younger age (OR 0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.98), lower stroke severity (0.92, 0.86-0.99), prior full-time work (2.33, 1.24-4.40), and less 3-month disability. CONCLUSIONS: Return to work at 12 months after stroke was associated with young age, acute stroke severity, 3-month disability and full-time employment before stroke. Greater understanding of this topic could help in developing programs to support successful resumption of work post-stroke.