Andrews, professor of physical therapy education, co-authored a study which has been accepted for publication in Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation.
Bill Andrews, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy Education, along with Richard Bohannon, professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, have been notified their research study, “Functional Independence Predicts Patients with Stroke More Likely to be Discharged to the Community After Inpatient Rehabilitation: Analysis of a Nationwide Database of the United States,” has been accepted for publication in Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation.
The publication in the peer-reviewed journal Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation (Impact Factor = 2.12; CiteScore = 3.4; top quartile of rehabilitation journals) is the culmination of Andrews’ sabbatical research project that occurred during the spring of 2021. In this study, the researchers conducted a secondary analysis of the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation.
In their analysis of over 92,000 individuals who were patients in inpatient rehabilitation facilities following a stroke, the investigators found that functional independence in several domains, both at admission and discharge, were predictive of discharge destination.
In other words, patients who were more independent in self-care, locomotion, transfers, sphincter control and social cognition measures were more likely to be discharged back to the community instead of a nursing home or some other institutionalized setting. This information should help clinicians with goal setting and discharge planning when working with patients who have sustained a stroke.