Acute stroke patient mobilisation practices and concerns. A survey of 202 stroke professionals

• Background Stroke unit care is proven to improve outcome for patients. One component responsible for this may be that patients are mobilised earlier and more intensively, but there is lack of unambiguous scientific evidence. Therefore current practices may be driven by historical precedent and/or clinical opinion, and varying approaches to mobilisation are likely. This study sought to determine different health professionals´ beliefs regarding early mobilisation (EM) in acute stroke. EM was defined as intensive out of bed activities within the first 24 hours after stroke onset. Methods A 9 item anonymous questionnaire on benefits and harms with early mobilisation after stroke was used to interview stroke care professionals during the integrated Stroke Society of Australasia (SSA) and Australasian Nursing and Allied Health Conference in Sydney in August 2008. Data were collected using personal digital assistants. Five point Likert scales sought levels of agreement with harm and benefit of EM. Results The survey was completed by 202 professionals, representing 38% of all conference attendees. 65% were females, 50% under 40 years old, 46% worked in an acute stroke unit and 31% in rehabilitation, 35% were nurses, 26% were medical doctors, 19% were physiotherapists and 12% were occupational therapists. Two thirds had less than 10 years experience in stroke care overall. Sixty percent of professionals had concerns about possible harm of early mobilisation and more so for hemorrhagic (59%) than ischemic (23%) stroke (p<0.001). Cardiovascular stability was the major concern (12% ischemic, 34% hemorrhagic). Conclusion Our results show that most professionals had concerns about early mobilisation of stroke patients and these concerns were stronger for hemorrhagic than for ischemic stroke patients. This is surprising given the lack of evidence to support such a dichotomy and the potential harms of bed-confining hemorrhagic stroke patients.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Sjukgymnastik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Physiotherapy (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation, hälsopolitik och hälsoekonomi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Neurologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Neurology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

stroke

rehabilitation

health services

early ambulation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)