[Evaluation of quality of life in patients after stroke]

The investigations concerning quality of life after stroke provide an alternative approach in comparison with traditional evaluation of the patient's condition focused only on neurological deficits. The full picture of the patient after stroke should take into account not only locomotor inefficiency, but also cognitive deficits, emotional disturbances and limitations in performing one's social functions. The study present attempts to define health related quality of life and reviews questionnaires devised for the examination of post-stroke patients. Despite a wide variety of methods used, the evaluation of all the areas of the patient's life after stroke seems impossible using only one research tool. There is also an urgent need to develop a uniform system of evaluation, appropriate for Polish cultural standards.