Increased Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Post-Acute Care Patients with Stroke during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hsiang-Yun Chou, Yu-Chun Lo, Ya-Wen Tsai, Chia-Li Shih and Chieh-Ting Yeh
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Hsiang-Yun Chou: Department of Rehabilitation, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 709204, Taiwan
Yu-Chun Lo: The Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
Ya-Wen Tsai: Department of Rehabilitation, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 709204, Taiwan
Chia-Li Shih: Department of Rehabilitation, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 709204, Taiwan
Chieh-Ting Yeh: Department of Nursing, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 709204, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: This study aimed to explore the quality and stability of post-acute care for patients with stroke, including their functional outcomes, mental health and medical care in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this retrospective case–control study—based on propensity score matching—we assessed 11 patients admitted during the pandemic period (in 2021) and 11 patients admitted during the non-pandemic period (in 2020). Functional outcomes, including the scores of the modified Rankin Scale, Barthel Index, EuroQoL-5 Dimension, Lawton–Brody instrumental activities of daily living, Berg Balance Scale, 5-metre walking speed and 6-min walking distance, were determined. Data on the length of acute care, length of post-acute care, destination after discharge and 14-days readmission were used to evaluate the quality of medical care. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare functional performance before and after rehabilitation. The pandemic group showed no significant improvement in the scores of EuroQoL-5 Dimension, a self-reported health status assessment ( p = 0.13), with the anxiety or depression dimension showing a negative effect (r = 0.21). Post-acute care programmes can efficiently improve the functional performance of patients with stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Mental health should therefore be simultaneously maintained while rehabilitating physical function.

Keywords: post-acute care; stroke; rehabilitation; functional outcome; mental health; anxiety; depression; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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