Date of Award

1993

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Henry C. Wessman

Keywords

Cerebrovascular Disorders -- rehabilitation

Abstract

Stroke is the number one source of adult disability in the United States, with approximately 400,000 new stroke survivors each year. The cost of care and the loss of earnings as a result of stroke is considerable. Stroke rehabilitation is a health service provided to try to decrease the disability and the socioeconomic costs. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature search to provide a review of stroke epidemiology, outline four functional outcome measures used in stroke assessment (Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Motor Assessment Scale, Barthel Index, and the Functional Independence Measure), identify predictive factors in functional outcomes of stroke survivors, and address the effectiveness of stroke rehabilitation on functional outcomes. The review of the literature indicated the following areas of concern in stroke rehabilitation: lack of standard functional measures, methodological flaws in stroke research, and underestimation of psychosocial ability to accurately predict functional outcomes.

Download
COinS