Pilot study shows the benefit of occupational therapy for stroke care home residents
A recent study, funded by The Stroke Association, has shown how beneficial even a small amount of occupational therapy can be to residents in care homes who have had a stroke. The study, carried out by Professor Catherine Sackley and colleagues at the University of Birmingham, is extremely significant as the care home population is an understudied and extremely vulnerable group.
Standard occupational therapy work is not being carried out in care homes. This can include improving independence in going to the toilet, eating and dressing, making life easier for patients by adjusting bed, seat and table heights, and making moving around easier by ensuring that people have the right walking aid.
It has been shown that occupational therapy, like that described above, has been beneficial for patients living in their own home. However, the benefit of providing occupational therapy in care homes, where the population is generally more frail and the environment is significantly different, has not been investigated.
This pilot study, which is the first study into the occupational therapy needs of stroke patients in care homes, found that if residents were given a small amount of occupational therapy, they were significantly less likely to deteriorate in their ability to perform the activities of daily living.
This study has also shown that the method of rehabilitation is practical, which means that the study can easily be spun out to a much larger number of people. The scope of the research is also huge, with a significant result that could be used for all care home residents, not just stroke survivors.
