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PURPOSE: Rehabilitation plays a critical role in minimising disability after stroke, with the concept of "challenge" proposed to be essential to rehabilitation efficacy and outcomes. This review unpacks how challenge is conceptualised in stroke rehabilitation literature from the perspectives of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy and people with stroke. A secondary purpose was to provide a definition of challenge that is applicable to stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: Principle-based concept analysis was utilised to examine challenge within the stroke rehabilitation literature. Forty-two papers were included. Data analysis involved immersion, analytical questioning, coding and synthesis to elicit the conceptual components of challenge. RESULTS: Challenge was understood as a multidimensional and dynamic concept with three facets: nominal, functional and perceived challenge. Functional and perceived challenge were integral to optimal challenge. Optimal challenge was central to enhancing the outcomes and experiences of people with stroke, in rehabilitation and everyday life. CONCLUSIONS: Challenge is a key concept which, when carefully optimised to the person's ability and experience, may positively influence their learning, recovery and engagement after stroke. This review lays a conceptual foundation for better understanding, operationalisation and advancement of challenge, offering important implications for addressing the growing burden of stroke disability, through rehabilitation.
Challenge involves a multifaceted, multidimensional and dynamic interaction between the task, the person's ability and their subjective experience.The therapist and the person's perspective should collectively shape the process of co-creating a challenge that is truly optimal for the person.Therapists should consider both functional and perceived approaches to operationalising challenge with the person.
RESUMO
Intervention parameters such as the challenge, amount, and dosage (challenge × amount) have the potential to alter the efficacy of rehabilitation interventions after stroke. This systematic review investigated the effect of intervention parameters of challenge, amount, and dosage on improvements in walking outcomes following treadmill training (TT) and comparison interventions in people with stroke. Randomized controlled trials were included if they: (i) investigated interventions of TT or bodyweight-supported TT (BWSTT); (ii) made comparisons with other physiotherapy interventions, other types of TT, or no intervention; (iii) studied people with stroke; (iv) reported sufficient data on challenge and amount parameters; and (v) measured walking speed or endurance. Completeness of reporting was evaluated using the TIDieR-Rehab checklist and risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. The review included 26 studies; 15 studies compared TT or BWSTT with other physiotherapy interventions and 11 studies compared different types of TT. Meta-analyses provided evidence with low to moderate certainty that greater differences in challenge and dosage between treadmill and comparison physiotherapy interventions produced greater effects on walking endurance (p < 0.01). However, challenge and dosage did not influence walking speed outcomes. The analysis of intervention amount was limited by the lack of studies that manipulated the amount of intervention. Overall, the findings indicate that, after stroke, some of the efficacy of TT on walking endurance can be explained by the challenge level during training. This supports the implementation of TT at higher challenge levels in stroke rehabilitation practice.