Stroke rehabilitation and dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Examining process of care and experience of stroke-specific rehabilitation for people with pre-existing cognitive difficulties
IRAS ID
217358
Contact name
Verity Longley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 29 days
Research summary
Difficulties with thinking (cognitive impairments), for example memory, paying attention and problem solving, are common after a stroke. Most people will recover these abilities but some will go on to develop longstanding cognitive impairments or dementia. Some people may have started developing these difficulties before their stroke also, or develop them after recurrent stroke. Stroke-specific rehabilitation is important early after stroke in order to maximise recovery, however cognitive impairment or dementia is likely to make rehabilitation more difficult due to the person’s ability to participate in it.
This study aims to investigate whether there is a difference in the rehabilitation patients with and without pre-existing cognitive impairment or dementia receive. It will also explore the experience of rehabilitation from the perspective of patients with pre-existing cognitive impairment or dementia.
The research will take place at nine sites on stroke rehabilitation units. In phase one, admissions meeting eligibility criteria will be recruited and consented for the researcher to access their medical notes. Medical notes will be reviewed and data gathered on how many therapy sessions are received by each patient during an eight week period, alongside other processes of care such as type of therapy received and discharge destination. Data will be separated into three cohorts for analysis (no dementia diagnosis/undiagnosed cognitive impairment, documented dementia diagnosis, and undiagnosed cognitive impairment). Statistical analysis will compare outcome variables between the groups.
In phase two, a sample of patients identified as having pre-existing cognitive impairment or dementia will be recruited for interview about their experience of rehabilitation eight weeks post-stroke. Only participants with capacity to consent will be interviewed. The two phases together aim to provide a broad understanding of stroke-specific rehabilitation for this patient group.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0427
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion