Effectiveness of Transitional Care Program on Activities of Daily Living and Quality of Life among Elderly with Stroke at Chiang Mai Neurological Hospital

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a transitional care program affected activities of daily living and quality of life in elderly with stroke. It was conducted using experimental pre-post test control group design. Sixty three of elderly with ischemic stroke at Chiang Mai neurological hospital were randomized to either a transitional care program intervention (n=29) or usual care (n=34). The period of study was 1 year between October 2014 - September 2015. Data were collected twice within 24 hours after admission and 12 weeks post discharge. Activities of daily living and quality of life were measured by the Barthel Index and Ferrans and Powers's Quality of Life Index Stroke Version. It was found that the care program had significantly improved activities of daily living of elderly with stroke in the experimental group (p<0.05). However there was no significant difference in quality of life of elderly with stroke in the experimental and control group. Therefore, this study shows that the transitional care program could be applied for elderly with stroke during transition.