Development of a Poststroke Checklist to Standardize Follow-up Care for Stroke Survivors (await studies showing whether checklist results in better patient outcomes)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23265778

J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2012 Dec 19. pii: S1052-3057(12)00360-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2012.10.016. [Epub ahead of print]

Development of a Poststroke Checklist to Standardize Follow-up Care for Stroke Survivors.

Philp I, Brainin M, Walker MF, Ward AB, Gillard P, Shields AL, Norrving B; Global Stroke Community Advisory Panel**.

Source

South Warwickshire Foundation National Health Service Trust, Warwick, United Kingdom. Electronic address: ian.philp@warwick.ac.uk.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Long-term care for stroke survivors is fragmented and lacks an evidence-based, easy-to-use tool to identify persistent long-term problems among stroke survivors and streamline referral for treatment. We sought to develop a poststroke checklist (PSC) to help health care professionals identify poststroke problems amenable to treatment and subsequent referral.

METHODS:

An instrument development team, supported by measurement experts, international stroke experts, and poststroke care stakeholders, was created to develop a long-term PSC. A list of long-term poststroke problem areas was generated by an international, multidisciplinary group of stroke experts, the Global Stroke Community Advisory Panel. Using Delphi methods, a consensus was reached on which problem areas on the list were most important and relevant to include in a PSC. The instrument development team concurrently created the actual checklist, which provided example language about how to ask about poststroke problem areas and linked patient responses to a specific referral process.

RESULTS:

Eleven long-term poststroke problem areas were rated highly and consistently among stroke experts participating in the Delphi process (n = 12): secondary prevention, activities of daily living, mobility, spasticity, pain, incontinence, communication, mood, cognition, life after stroke, and relationship with caregiver. These problem areas were included in the long-term PSC.

CONCLUSIONS:

The PSC was developed to be a brief and easy-to-use tool, intended to facilitate a standardized approach for health care providers to identify long-term problems in stroke survivors and to facilitate appropriate referrals for treatment.