Educating Stroke/TIA Patients about Obstructive Sleep Apnea after Stroke: A Randomized Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs in about 70% of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients and is associated with poor function and recurrent vascular events. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) has been shown to improve poststroke/TIA outcomes but adherence is generally poor. This study aimed to develop and conduct a preliminary assessment of educational materials for poststroke/TIA OSA. METHODS: This blinded pilot study involved the randomization of stroke/TIA patients to either an intervention group (who viewed an educational pamphlet and slideshow) or a control group (standard of care). Patient ratings were used to evaluate the educational materials. Changes in knowledge, daytime sleepiness, functional outcomes of sleep, and CPAP use were assessed at baseline and 6 months. RESULTS: Total 93% of eligible patients consented to participate. Forty-eight participants were randomized to the control group (n = 23) or intervention group (n = 25). In the intervention group, all patients agreed or strongly agreed that the information in the educational materials was useful and that the wording was easy to understand. There were no significant changes in knowledge, daytime sleepiness, and functional outcomes of sleep between both groups at 6 months. In those who used CPAP, there was no significant difference in mean hours of CPAP use at the 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The educational program was feasible and easy to understand amongst stroke/TIA patients but did not lead to a significant change in outcomes or CPAP use. The lessons learned can be used to facilitate future development of educational materials and plan an adequately-powered trial.

Causal attributions and health behavior choices among stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors.

To reduce the risk of a recurring event in patients who have suffered an initial stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), nurses are challenged with implementing and promoting changes in lifestyle and adherence to treatment regimens. Assessing patients' beliefs about the cause of the stroke or TIA is important to understanding their subsequent health behaviors. This study describes the causal attributions and health behavior choices of 9 participants following a stroke or TIA. Attributions were categorized as internal or external and cross-tabulated by controllability. The attributions were compared with health behavior choices. All participants attempted to make causal attributions, both internal (e.g., anxiety, hypertension, lifestyle) and external (e.g., stress, fate). Those making external attributions demonstrated poorer health behavior choices than those making internal attributions; controllability had no influence on behavior. Patients diagnosed more than 6 months before the study tended to make more external attributions. The results can help nurses understand the beliefs that drive the health behavior choices made by stroke and TIA survivors and guide them in tailoring prevention strategies and engaging patients in preventive activities.

A multi-faceted knowledge translation approach to support persons with stroke and cognitive impairment: evaluation protocol.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cognitive impairments following a stroke are often denied access to inpatient rehabilitation. The few patients with cognitive impairment admitted to rehabilitation generally receive services based on outdated impairment-reduction models, rather than recommended function-based approaches. Both reduced access to rehabilitation and the knowledge-to-practice gap stem from a reported lack of skills and knowledge regarding cognitive rehabilitation on the part of inpatient rehabilitation team members. To address these issues, a multi-faceted knowledge translation (KT) initiative will be implemented and evaluated. It will be targeted specifically at the inter-professional application of the cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO-OP). CO-OP training combined with KT support is called CO-OP KT. The long-term objective of CO-OP KT is to optimize functional outcomes for individuals with stroke and cognitive impairments. Three research questions are posed: 1. Is the implementation of CO-OP KT associated with a change in the proportion of patients with cognitive impairment following a stroke accepted to inpatient rehabilitation? 2. Is the implementation of CO-OP KT associated with a change in rehabilitation clinicians' practice, knowledge, and self-efficacy related to implementing the CO-OP approach, immediately following and 1 year later? 3. Is CO-OP KT associated with changes in activity, participation, and self-efficacy to perform daily activities in patients with cognitive impairment following stroke at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups? METHODS/DESIGN: Three interrelated studies will be conducted. Study 1 will be a quasi-experimental, interrupted time series design measuring monthly summaries of stroke unit level data. Study 2, which relates to changes in health care professional practice and self-efficacy, will be a single group pre-post evaluation design incorporating chart audits and a self-report survey. Study 3 will assess patient functional outcomes using a non-randomized design with historical controls. Assessments will occur during admission and discharge from rehabilitation and at 1, 3, and 6 months following discharge from rehabilitation. DISCUSSION: This project will advance knowledge about the degree to which the implementation of a supported KT initiative can sustainably change health system, knowledge, and patient outcomes.

Practice on an acute stroke unit after implementation of a decision-making algorithm for dietary management of dysphagia.

Dysphagia is a common disability seen in stroke survivors that has been associated with high morbidity and mortality. Research has indicated that implementing clinical guidelines and algorithms improves dysphagia management and patient outcomes. A decision-making algorithm designed to enhance the assessment and dietary treatment of swallowing difficulties in the acute stroke patient was implemented on a dedicated neuroscience unit in January 2002. Following implementation, the medical records of 30 acute stroke patients consecutively admitted to the unit between February and May 2002 were reviewed for stroke and dysphagia characteristics, dysphagia-related complications, discharge dispositions, interdisciplinary baseline assessments, and nursing evaluations throughout the hospitalization. Of those patients admitted with stroke, 56.7% were dysphagic. As compared with the nondysphagic patients, the dysphagic patients had three times' longer inpatient stay, an increased incidence of complications, higher morbidity, and increased need for inpatient rehabilitation services and institutionalized care following discharge. Twenty percent of patients did not receive aformal evaluation of swallowing function within the first 48 hours of admission. In 10% of the patients, diets were changed following the formal evaluation of swallowing to change an unsafe, prescribed diet. More than 70% of patients showed clinical improvement in swallowing function during their hospitalization. Nurses tended to document assessments of general neurological factors (e.g., level of consciousness) related to swallowing function more frequently than factors felt to be more specific to swallowing (e.g., choking) and nutrition (e.g., tolerates diet). The results support the important role of the neuroscience nurse in the early and ongoing assessment of swallowing function and in providing directions to further improve the quality of care delivered to stroke patients with various degrees of swallowing dysfunction.