Multidisciplinary Care after Acute Care for Stroke: A Prospective Comparison between a Multidisciplinary Post-Acute Care Group and a Standard Group Matched by Propensity Score

Chong-Chi Chiu, Hsiu-Fen Lin, Ching-Huang Lin, Hong-Tai Chang, Hong-Hsi Hsien, Kuo-Wei Hung, Sheng-Li Tung and Hon-Yi Shi
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Chong-Chi Chiu: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan
Hsiu-Fen Lin: Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Ching-Huang Lin: Division of Neurology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 81341, Taiwan
Hong-Tai Chang: Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Municipal United Hospital, Kaohsiung 80457, Taiwan
Hong-Hsi Hsien: Department of Internal Medicine, St. Joseph Hospital, Kaohsiung 80288, Taiwan
Kuo-Wei Hung: Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yuan’s General Hospital, Kaohsiung 80249, Taiwan
Sheng-Li Tung: Department of Medical Research, Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, Chiayi 61301, Taiwan
Hon-Yi Shi: Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: In this large-scale prospective cohort study, a propensity score matching method was applied in a natural experimental design to investigate how post-acute care (PAC) after stroke affects functional status and to identify predictors of functional status. The main objective of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in various measures of functional status in stroke patients and predictors of scores for these measures before and after PAC. A group of patients who had received PAC for stroke at one of two medical centers (PAC group, n = 273) was compared with a group who had received standard care for stroke at one of four hospitals (three regional hospital and one district hospital; non-PAC group, n = 273) in Taiwan from March, 2014, to October, 2018. The patients completed the functional status measures before rehabilitation, the 12th week and the 1st year after rehabilitation. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate differences-in-differences models for examining the effects of PAC. The average age was 68.0 (SD = 8.1) years, and males accounted for 57.9%. During the follow-up period, significant risk factors for poor functional outcomes were advanced age, hemorrhagic stroke, and poor function scores before rehabilitation ( p < 0.05). Between-group comparisons at subsequent time points revealed significantly higher functional status scores in the PAC group versus the non-PAC group ( p < 0.001). Notably, for all functional status measures, between-group differences in total scores significantly increased over time from baseline to 1 year post-rehabilitation ( p < 0.001). The contribution of this study is its further elucidation of the clinical implications and health policy implications of rehabilitative care after stroke. Specifically, it improves understanding of the effects of PAC in stroke patients at different follow-up times. Therefore, a policy implication of this study is that standard care for stroke should include intensive rehabilitative PAC to maximize recovery of overall function.

Keywords: post-acute care; stroke; geriatric; functional status; risk factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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