Nursing interventions within the Mauk Model of Poststroke Recovery

Stroke continues to be the third leading cause of death in the United States. According to the National Stroke Association (NSA, 2004) and the American Heart Association (AHA, 2004), there are over 750,000 new or recurrent strokes per year, with many resulting in residual disability. Stroke survivors often deal with the physical, psychosocial, and emotional consequences of stroke long after they have left the safety of professional rehabilitation. Patient instruction from nurses prior to discharge, while necessary, may be done at a point in the recovery process when the stroke survivor is not ready to learn how to deal with such consequences. Using the Mauk Model for Poststroke Recovery, nurses can identify which phase of recovery a survivor is in, and thus tailor care to his or her needs. The purpose of this article is to use the Mauk Model for Poststroke Recovery to present nursing interventions that are appropriate to each of the previously identified six phases of stroke recovery.