Physical activity and mental health in individuals with multimorbidity during COVID-19: an explanatory sequential mixed-method study.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the physical activity and mental health of individuals living with long-term conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study with two phases: phase 1: quantitative survey and phase 2: qualitative follow-up interviews. SETTING: For the quantitative phase, an online survey was launched in March 2021, using Microsoft Forms. For the qualitative phase, in-depth semistructured interviews were conducted via online. PARTICIPANTS: 368 adults over 18 years old living in the UK with at least one long-term condition completed the survey. Interviews were conducted in a subsample of participants from the previous quantitative phase, with 26 people. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Responses from the survey showed that people with one long-term condition were significantly more physically active and spent less time sitting, than those with two or more conditions, presenting with significantly higher well-being (p<0.0001), and lower levels of anxiety (p<0.01), and depression (p<0.0001). Interviews found that people developed a range of strategies to cope with the impact of changeability and the consequences of their long-term condition on their physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The number of long-term conditions influenced physical activity and how people coped with their condition during COVID-19. Findings will inform policy developments in preparation for future pandemics to support and remain people to remain physically active and mental health.

Investigating Scottish Long COVID community rehabilitation service models from the perspectives of people living with Long COVID and healthcare professionals: a qualitative descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of barriers and facilitators to accessing Long COVID community rehabilitation. DESIGN: We used a qualitative descriptive design over two rounds of data collection with three participant groups: (1) people with experience of rehabilitation for Long COVID (PwLC); (2) National Health Service (NHS) staff delivering and/or managing community rehabilitation services (allied health professionals (AHPs)) and (3) NHS staff involved in strategic planning around Long COVID in their health board (Long COVID leads). SETTING: Four NHS Scotland territorial health boards. PARTICIPANTS: 51 interviews: eight Long COVID leads (11 interviews); 15 AHPs (25 interviews) and 15 PwLC (15 interviews). RESULTS: Three key themes were identified: (1) accessing care for PwLC, (2) understanding Long COVID and its management and (3) strengths and limitations of existing Long COVID rehabilitation services. CONCLUSIONS: Organisational delivery of Long COVID community rehabilitation is complex and presents multiple challenges. In addition, access to Long COVID community rehabilitation can be challenging. When accessed, these services are valued by PwLC but require adequate planning, publicity and resource. The findings presented here can be used by those developing and delivering services for people with Long COVID.

Exploring the views and experiences of people recovering from a stroke about a new text message intervention to promote physical activity after rehabilitation-Keeping Active with Texting After Stroke: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Participating in exercise following a stroke is essential for recovery. When community-based rehabilitation services end, some people struggle to remain active. We codesigned Keeping Active with Texting After Stroke (KATS), a text message intervention to support home-based, self-directed plans to continue exercising. KATS delivers a series of automated text messages over a 12-week period from the point of discharge from National Health Service-funded therapy. The aim of this study was to explore the views and experiences of the first cohort of participants to complete the KATS intervention about the meaning, engagement, workability and worth of the intervention. METHODS: We undertook a qualitative study, theoretically informed by Normalisation Process Theory. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with people with stroke from two Health Boards in Scotland. Data collection took place over two phases, with each participant being interviewed twice: first, halfway through intervention delivery (Week 6) and then again at the end of the intervention (Week 12). All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. RESULTS: A total of 24 interviews were conducted with 12 participants. Our findings were organised around four overarching analytical themes: (1) making sense of KATS: timing and complementarity in the rehabilitation journey; (2) engaging with KATS: connection and identification with others; (3) making KATS work: flexibility and tailorable guidance; (4) appraising the worth of KATS: encouragement and friendliness. Participants differentiated KATS from current rehabilitation practice, finding it relevant, fitting and worthwhile. Variations were reported in engagement with behaviour change techniques, but participants were able to tailor KATS use, making it work for them in different ways. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived benefits went beyond promoting physical activity, including feeling supported and connected. Future research will test the effectiveness of KATS in promoting physical activity and explore any associations with relevant social and emotional secondary outcomes. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: A research funding proposal was developed in collaboration with five people with stroke and three spouses. After securing funding, six people with stroke were invited to join the project's Collaborative Working Group, alongside health professionals and stroke rehabilitation experts, to codevelop the intervention and support the feasibility study.

Keeping Active with Texting after Stroke (KATS): development of a text message intervention to promote physical activity and exercise after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Post-stroke physical activity reduces disability and risk of further stroke. When stroke rehabilitation ends, some people feel abandoned by services and struggle to undertake physical activities that support recovery and health. The aim of this study was to codesign a novel text message intervention to promote physical activity among people with stroke and provide support when formal rehabilitation ends. This manuscript describes the intervention development processes that will inform future pilot and feasibility studies. METHODS: The planned intervention was a series of text messages to be sent in a predetermined sequence to people with stroke at the end of rehabilitation. The intervention, underpinned by behaviour change theory and using salient behaviour change techniques, would provide daily messages offering encouragement and support for the uptake and maintenance of physical activity following stroke. The intervention was codesigned by a Collaborative Working Group, comprised of people with stroke, rehabilitation therapists, representatives from stroke charities and academics. A four-step framework was used to design the intervention: formative research on physical activity post-stroke, creation of the behaviour change text message intervention, pre-testing and refinement. Formative research included a review of the scientific evidence and interviews with community-dwelling people with stroke. Data generated were used by the Collaborative Working Group to identify topics to be addressed in the intervention. These were mapped to constructs of the Health Action Process Approach, and salient behaviour change techniques to deliver the intervention were identified. The intervention was rendered into a series of text messages to be delivered over 12 weeks. The draft intervention was revised and refined through an iterative process including review by people with stroke, their spouses, rehabilitation therapists and experts in the field of stroke. The messages encourage regular physical activity but do not prescribe exercise or provide reminders to exercise at specific times. They use conversational language to encourage engagement, and some are personalised for participants. Quotes from people with stroke provide encouragement and support and model key behaviour change techniques such as goal setting and coping planning. DISCUSSION: Co-design processes were critical in systematically developing this theory and evidence-based intervention. People with stroke and rehabilitation therapists provided insights into perceived barriers post-rehabilitation and identified strategies to overcome them. The structured multistep approach highlighted areas for improvement through successive rounds of review. The intervention will be tested for acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness in future studies. This co-design approach could be used for interventions for other heath behaviours and with different populations.

WeWalk: walking with a buddy after stroke-a pilot study evaluating feasibility and acceptability of a person-centred dyadic behaviour change intervention.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for benefits of physical activity after stroke is unequivocal. However, many people with stroke are inactive, spending > 80% of waking hours sedentary even when they have physical capacity for activity, indicating barriers to physical activity participation that are not physical. WeWalk is a 12-week person-centred dyadic behaviour change intervention in which a person with stroke (PWS) and a walking buddy form a dyad to work together to support the PWS to increase their physical activity by walking outdoors. This pilot study examined the feasibility of recruiting dyads, explored their perceptions of acceptability and their experiences using WeWalk, to identify required refinements before progression to a clinical trial. METHODS: Design: A single-arm observational pilot study with qualitative evaluation. INTERVENTION: WeWalk involved facilitated face-to-face and telephone sessions with a researcher who was also a behaviour change practitioner, supported by intervention handbooks and diaries, in which dyads agreed walking goals and plans, monitored progress, and developed strategies for maintaining walking. EVALUATION: Descriptive data on recruitment and retention were collected. Interview data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis, guided by a theoretical framework of acceptability. RESULTS: We recruited 21 dyads comprising community dwelling PWS and their walking buddies. Ten dyads fully completed WeWalk before government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown. Despite lockdown, 18 dyads completed exit interviews. We identified three themes: acceptability evolves with experience, mutuality, and person-centredness with personally relevant tailoring. As dyads recognised how WeWalk components supported walking, perceptions of acceptability grew. Effort receded as goals and enjoyment of walking together were realised. The dyadic structure provided accountability, and participants' confidence developed as they experienced physical and psychological benefits of walking. WeWalk worked best when dyads exhibited relational connectivity and mutuality in setting and achieving goals. Tailoring intervention components to individual circumstances and values supported dyads in participation and achieving meaningful goals. CONCLUSION: Recruiting dyads was feasible and most engaged with WeWalk. Participants viewed the dyadic structure and intervention components as acceptable for promoting outdoor walking and valued the personally tailored nature of WeWalk. Developing buddy support skills and community delivery pathways are required refinements. ISCTRN number: 34488928.

We Walk: a person-centred, dyadic behaviour change intervention to promote physical activity through outdoor walking after stroke-an intervention development study.

OBJECTIVES: To develop We Walk, a theoretically informed, 12-week person-centred dyadic behaviour change intervention to increase physical activity (PA) in community-dwelling people with stroke (PWS) through outdoor walking. DESIGN: Three-phase intervention development study. Phase 1: we reviewed literature on barriers and facilitators to PA after stroke and mapped them to the Behaviour Change Wheel and Theoretical Domains Framework to define intervention components. The Health Action Process Approach determined intervention structure underpinned by person-centred principles. Phase 2: stakeholder focus groups involving PWS, their companions and health professionals reviewed the draft intervention, and experts in behaviour change were consulted. Phase 3: informed by phases 1 and 2, the intervention and form of delivery were refined, with final review through patient and public involvement. SETTING: Three Scottish community rehabilitation stroke services. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three ambulatory community-dwelling PWS and their companions, thirty-seven health and exercise professionals, seven behaviour change experts. RESULTS: Phase 1 determined key intervention components: information about benefits of walking; developing motivation and confidence to walk; facilitating dyadic goal setting and making plans together; monitoring walking, overcoming challenges; and maintaining walking behaviour. Phase 2 review by stakeholder focus groups and behaviour change experts endorsed intervention components and structure, emphasising dyadic relational aspects as central to potential success. In phase 3, intervention content and handbooks for PWS and buddies were finalised. Healthcare professionals proposed third-sector delivery as most appropriate for intervention delivery. A detailed delivery manual was developed. Participants preferred facilitated face-to-face and telephone delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Our multilens intervention development approach ensured this novel intervention was evidence-informed, person-centred, theoretically coherent provided appropriate social support, and addressed issues of concern to PWS. This study established intervention components and structure and identified operational issues critical to future success. Future research will pilot and refine We Walk and evaluate acceptability, feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN34488928.

Implementation in rehabilitation: a roadmap for practitioners and researchers.

Purpose: Despite growth in rehabilitation research, implementing research findings into rehabilitation practice has been slow. This creates inequities for patients and is an ethical issue. However, methods to investigate and facilitate evidence implementation are being developed. This paper aims to make these methods relevant and accessible for rehabilitation researchers and practitioners.Methods: Rehabilitation practice is varied and complex and occurs within multilevel healthcare systems. Using a "road map" analogy, we describe how implementation concepts and theories can inform implementation strategies in rehabilitation. The roadmap involves a staged journey that considers: the nature of evidence; context for implementation; navigation tools for implementation; strategies to facilitate implementation; evaluation of implementation outcomes; and sustainability of implementation. We have developed a model to illustrate the journey, and four case studies exemplify implementation stages in rehabilitation settings.Results and Conclusions: Effective implementation strategies for the complex world of rehabilitation are urgently required. The journey we describe unpacks that complexity to provide a template for effective implementation, to facilitate translation of the growing evidence base in rehabilitation into improved patient outcomes. It emphasizes the importance of understanding context and application of relevant theory, and highlights areas which should be targeted in new implementation research in rehabilitation.Implications for rehabilitationEffective implementation of research evidence into rehabilitation practice has many interconnected steps and a roadmap analogy is helpful in defining them.Understanding context for implementation is critically important and using theory can facilitate development of understanding.Research methods for implementation in rehabilitation should be carefully selected and outcomes should evaluate implementation success as well as clinical change.Sustainability requires regular revisiting of the interconnected steps.

Dynamic Lycra® orthoses as an adjunct to arm rehabilitation after stroke: a single-blind, two-arm parallel group, randomized controlled feasibility trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial of dynamic Lycra® orthoses as an adjunct to arm rehabilitation after stroke and to explore the magnitude and direction of change on arm outcomes. DESIGN: This is a single-blind, two-arm parallel group, feasibility randomized controlled trial. SETTING: In-patient rehabilitation. SUBJECTS: The study participants were stroke survivors with arm hemiparesis two to four weeks after stroke receiving in-patient rehabilitation. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized 2:1 to wear Lycra® gauntlets for eight hours daily for eight weeks, plus usual rehabilitation (n = 27), or to usual rehabilitation only (n = 16). MAIN MEASURES: Recruitment, retention, fidelity, adverse events and completeness of data collection were examined at 8 and 16 weeks; arm function (activity limitation; Action Research Arm Test, Motor Activity Log) and impairment (Nine-hole Peg Test, Motricity Index, Modified Tardieu Scale). Structured interviews explored acceptability. RESULTS: Of the target of 51, 43 (84%) participants were recruited. Retention at 8 weeks was 32 (79%) and 24 (56%) at 16 weeks. In total, 11 (52%) intervention group participants and 6 (50%) control group participants (odds ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.2 to 7.8) had improved Action Research Arm Test level by 8 weeks; at 16 weeks, this was 8 (61%) intervention and 6 (75.0%) control participants (odds ratio = 1.1, 95% confidence interval = 0.1 to 13.1). Change on other measures favoured control participants. Acceptability was influenced by 26 adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: Recruitment and retention were low, and adverse reactions were problematic. There were no indications of clinically relevant effects, but the small sample means definitive conclusions cannot be made. A definitive trial is not warranted without orthoses adaptation.

Art participation for psychosocial wellbeing during stroke rehabilitation: a feasibility randomised controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To examine the feasibility of undertaking a pragmatic single-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a visual arts participation programme to evaluate effects on survivor wellbeing within stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: Stroke survivors receiving in-patient rehabilitation were randomised to receive eight art participation sessions (n = 41) or usual care (n = 40). Recruitment, retention, preference for art participation and change in selected outcomes were evaluated at end of intervention outcome assessment and three-month follow-up. RESULTS: Of 315 potentially eligible participants 81 (29%) were recruited. 88% (n = 71) completed outcome and 77% (n = 62) follow-up assessments. Of eight intervention group non-completers, six had no preference for art participation. Outcome completion varied between 97% and 77%. Running groups was difficult because of randomisation timing. Effectiveness cannot be determined from this feasibility study but effects sizes suggested art participation may benefit emotional wellbeing, measured on the positive and negative affect schedule, and self-efficacy for Art (d = 0.24-0.42). CONCLUSIONS: Undertaking a RCT of art participation within stroke rehabilitation was feasible. Art participation may enhance self-efficacy and positively influence emotional wellbeing. These should be outcomes in a future definitive trial. A cluster RCT would ensure art groups could be reliably convened. Fewer measures, and better retention strategies are required. Implications for Rehabilitation This feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) showed that recruiting and retaining stroke survivors in an RCT of a visual arts participation intervention within stroke rehabilitation was feasible. Preference to participate in art activities may influence recruitment and drop-out rates, and should be addressed and evaluated fully. Art participation as part of rehabilitation may improve some aspects of post-stroke wellbeing, including positive affect and self-efficacy for art. A future definitive cluster RCT would facilitate full evaluation of the value art participation can add to rehabilitation.

Physical activity participation in community dwelling stroke survivors: synergy and dissonance between motivation and capability. A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: The evidence supporting benefits of physical activity (PA) on fitness, functioning, health and secondary prevention after stroke is compelling. However, many stroke survivors remain insufficiently active. This study explored survivors' perspectives and experiences of PA participation to develop an explanatory framework that physiotherapists and other health professionals can use to develop person-specific strategies for PA promotion. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data was audio-recorded and transcribed. Analysis followed the Framework Approach. SETTING: Community setting, interviews conducted within participants' homes. PARTICIPANTS: Community dwelling stroke survivors (n=38) six months or more after the end of their rehabilitation, purposively selected by disability, PA participation and socio-demographic status. RESULTS: Findings suggest that survivors' beliefs, attitudes, and physical and social context generated synergy or dissonance between motivation (desire to be active) and capability (resources to be active) for PA participation. Dissonance occurred when motivated survivors had limited capability for activity, often leading to frustration. Confidence to achieve goals and determination to overcome barriers, acted as activity catalysts when other influences were synergistic. We illustrate these relationships in a dynamic explanatory model that can be used to support both novel interventions and personal activity plans. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests a shift is required from purely pragmatic approaches to PA promotion towards conceptual solutions. Understanding how synergy or dissonance between motivation and capability influence individual survivors' behaviour will support physiotherapists and other health professionals in promoting PA. This study provides a model for developing person-centred, tailored interventions that address barriers encountered by stroke survivors.

From physical and functional to continuity with pre-stroke self and participation in valued activities: a qualitative exploration of stroke survivors', carers' and physiotherapists' perceptions of physical activity after stroke.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) improves fitness, functioning, health and wellbeing after stroke. However, many survivors are inactive. This study explored survivors', carers' and physiotherapists' beliefs about PA to identify how these support or hinder PA participation. METHODS: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with community dwelling stroke survivors (n = 38); two focus groups involving six carers each; two focus groups, respectively, involving seven and eight stroke rehabilitation physiotherapists from clinical and community settings. Data were audio-recorded and transcribed. Analysis was structured using the Framework Approach to identify themes and a dynamic, conceptual model. FINDINGS: Desired outcomes and control over outcome achievement were key concepts. For survivors and carers, PA supported participation in valued activities, providing continuity with pre-stroke sense of self. Carers adopted motivating strategies for PA to support recovery and participation in shared activities. In contrast, physiotherapists prioritised physical and functional outcomes and viewed survivors' control of outcomes as limited which was reflected by the support they provided. CONCLUSIONS: Individualised interventions that account for social and environmental influences on behaviour appear vital to enabling survivors to participate in meaningful physical activities. Such interventions should facilitate development of shared perspectives among physiotherapists, carers and survivors of PA and related outcomes and provide tailored strategies to facilitate PA participation. Implications for Rehabilitation Physical activity after stroke rehabilitation is important for fitness, health, functioning and well-being. Reasons for survivors participating or not in physical activity after stroke are complex and varied. Physiotherapists and carers influence survivors' participation in physical activity but their views about how to do this do not always match, or do they always complement the views of survivors. Integrated approaches to supporting physical activity that account for survivors' preferences and recognise the carers' role should be developed and applied by physiotherapists and other health professionals.

Feasibility study of the effects of art as a creative engagement intervention during stroke rehabilitation on improvement of psychosocial outcomes: study protocol for a single blind randomized controlled trial: the ACES study.

BACKGROUND: Benefits of art participation after stroke are becoming increasingly recognized. Qualitative studies suggest that participation in visual arts creative engagement interventions (CEIs) during rehabilitation after stroke may improve mood, self-esteem, hope and some aspects of physical recovery. This study examines the feasibility of undertaking a randomized controlled trial of a CEI delivered by artists within in-patient stroke rehabilitation to test effectiveness. METHODS/DESIGN: This trial is a two arm, single-blind, randomized controlled feasibility trial within in-patient stroke rehabilitation. We will recruit 80 patients receiving stroke rehabilitation in two stroke units in a health board area of Scotland (40 patients in each arm). Intervention arm participants will receive a visual-arts based CEI facilitated by experienced artists. Artists will follow an intervention protocol with specific components that enable participants to set, achieve and review artistic goals. Participants will receive up to eight intervention sessions, four within a group and four one-to-one with the artist. Control group participants will receive usual care only.Data collection will occur at baseline, post-intervention and three-month follow-up. Stroke-related health status is the primary outcome; mood, self-esteem, self-efficacy, perceived recovery control and hope are secondary outcomes. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with purposively selected patients, artists and healthcare staff to elicit views and experiences of the intervention and feasibility and acceptability of trial processes. Recruitment rates, retention rates and patient preference for art participation will also be collected. Data will indicate, with confidence intervals, the proportion of patients choosing or refusing participation in the CEI and will allow calculation of recruitment rates for a future definitive trial. Summary data will indicate potential variability, magnitude and direction of difference between groups. Findings will inform sample size calculations for a definitive trial. Thematic analysis of qualitative data will be managed using the Framework Approach. Framework is an analytical approach for qualitative data, commonly used in policy and medical research. DISCUSSION: If shown to demonstrate effects, this intervention has the potential to address aspects of stroke recovery previously. Not routinely addressed in rehabilitation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered with Clinical Trials.Gov: NCT02085226 on 6th March 2014.

Interventions to promote long-term participation in physical activity after stroke: a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of interventions to promote long-term participation in physical activity (PA) on measures of frequency, duration, or intensity of PA at 3 months or longer in community-dwelling stroke survivors. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews between 1987 and December 2012. Search terms included "physical activity, exercise promotion," "stroke," "behavior change interventions," and their synonyms. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials or comparison studies involving stroke survivors, with follow-up of ≥3 months, examining interventions to increase long-term participation in PA. DATA EXTRACTION: Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines informed data extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Two reviewers independently reviewed abstracts and extracted data. DATA SYNTHESIS: Of 2888 studies, 11 involving 1704 participants were included. Risk of bias occurred in randomization methods and blinding. Limited data and study heterogeneity meant that data pooling was not possible. Odds ratios and continuous data as weighted mean differences, however, were calculated using fixed-effect models and 95% confidence intervals. Two intervention types were identified: individualized tailored counseling with or without supervised exercise (n=6 studies) and supervised exercise with advice (n=5 studies). Three studies illustrated increased odds of meeting recommended PA levels and participation in PA at 12 months after tailored counseling (P<.05). Two studies showed improved step count at 3 months with supervised exercise only (P<.05); however, PA levels had declined by 3 months. Tailored home exercise was the only predominantly exercise-based intervention to demonstrate higher PA participation at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides some evidence that tailored counseling alone or with tailored supervised exercise improves long-term PA participation and functional exercise capacity after stroke better than does tailored supervised exercise with general advice only. Interventions to improve participation in PA should incorporate PA-specific tailored counseling based on sound behavioral theory to promote long-term participation in PA.

Predicting health related quality of life 6 months after stroke: the role of anxiety and upper limb dysfunction.

PURPOSE: This study examined the role of anxiety and upper limb dysfunction, amongst other variables, as predictors of health related quality of life (HRQOL) 6 months after stroke. PARTICIPANTS: Stroke survivors (n = 85) who had previously participated in a randomised controlled trial of a physiotherapy intervention. Dependent variable: HRQOL - Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). PREDICTOR VARIABLES: Mood - Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale; Upper Limb Functioning - Action Research Arm Test; Rivermead Motor Assessment; Activities of Daily Living - Modified Barthel Index; Clinical and demographic factors. RESULTS: Anxiety and depression significantly predicted 49% of variance in overall HRQOL (p < 0.05), but only anxiety significantly predicted NHP pain (13% variance, p < 0.001), emotional reactions (41% variance, p < 0.001), sleep (19% variance, p = 0.02) and social isolation (23% variance, p = 0.02). Depression and anxiety together significantly predicted 30% variance in energy level (p < 0.001). UL motor impairment and activities of daily living predicted 36% of variance in NHP physical activity score (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that where anxiety is assessed, it appears more important in determining HRQOL than depression. UL impairment and ADL independence predicted perceived physical activity. Management strategies for anxiety and therapy for UL recovery long after stroke onset are likely to benefit perceived HRQOL.

Responses of the less affected arm to bilateral upper limb task training in early rehabilitation after stroke: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate effects of bilateral training (BT) on ipsilesional arm dexterity and activity limitation; to explore clinical and demographic factors that influence training effects; and to explore relationships between contralesional and ipsilesional recovery. DESIGN: Single-blind randomized controlled trial with outcome assessment at baseline, postintervention (6 wk), and follow-up (18 wk). SETTING: Inpatient acute and rehabilitation hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were randomized to a BT group in which training involved the ipsilesional and contralesional arms (n=56) or control training involving the contralesional arm only (n=50). INTERVENTIONS: Supervised BT or control training for 20 minutes on weekdays over a 6-week period using a standardized program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Upper limb activity limitation: Action Research Arm Test; and dexterity: Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT). RESULTS: Lower baseline scores were found for the ipsilesional arm on both measures compared with published normative values. The BT group demonstrated significantly greater change in dexterity (P=.03) during the intervention phase at 0 to 6 weeks (.06±.07pegs/s) compared with the control group (.02±.02pegs/s). The effect was lost for overall recovery at 0 to 18 weeks (P=.93). Younger participants (age≤68y) performed the 9HPT faster at baseline than older participants (P=.04) and demonstrated greater overall recovery with BT than older participants (P=.04). There was no significant correlation between ipsilesional and contralesional recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that BT may lead to clinically small improvements in ipsilesional performance of fine, rapid dexterity tasks. Younger participants responded better to BT. There was no relationship between contralesional and ipsilesional recovery, suggesting that different causes and recovery mechanisms may exist.

Optimising long-term participation in physical activities after stroke: exploring new ways of working for physiotherapists.

There is now good empirical evidence of physical and functional benefits for individuals with stroke from long-term engagement in a range of physical activities. However, long-term participation of stroke survivors in physical activity after rehabilitation is low, and maximum benefits are not being achieved. This article reviews relevant literature and evidence, and suggests that physiotherapists are ideally placed to support patients in long-term participation in activity as they prepare patients for the end of physical rehabilitation. However, this requires the development, testing and application of stroke-specific evidence-based behavioural and motivational interventions that are feasible in clinical practice, take account of the role of carers, and seek to address the barriers to activity faced by stroke survivors at the end of rehabilitation. It also requires physiotherapists to take a leading role in developing appropriate policies and strategies with other exercise professionals and services to address the transition from rehabilitation to an active lifestyle following stroke.

A comparison of bilateral and unilateral upper-limb task training in early poststroke rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of bilateral task training with unilateral task training on upper-limb outcomes in early poststroke rehabilitation. DESIGN: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial, with outcome assessments at baseline, postintervention (6 wk), and follow-up (18 wk). SETTING: Inpatient acute and rehabilitation hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were randomized to receive bilateral training (n=56) or unilateral training (n=50) at 2 to 4 weeks poststroke onset. INTERVENTION: Supervised bilateral or unilateral training for 20 minutes on weekdays over 6 weeks using a standardized program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Upper-limb outcomes were assessed by Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Rivermead Motor Assessment upper-limb scale, and Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT). Secondary measures included the Modified Barthel Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Nottingham Health Profile. All assessment was conducted by a blinded assessor. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in short-term improvement (0-6 wk) on any measure (P>.05). For overall improvement (0-18 wk), the only significant between-group difference was a change in the 9HPT (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0-0.1; P=.05) and ARAT pinch section (95% CI, 0.3-5.6; P=.03), which was lower for the bilateral training group. Baseline severity significantly influenced improvement in all upper-limb outcomes (P<.05), but this was irrespective of the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral training was no more effective than unilateral training, and in terms of overall improvement in dexterity, the bilateral training group improved significantly less. Intervention timing, task characteristics, dose, and intensity of training may have influenced the results and are therefore areas for future investigation.