Bridges self-management program for people with stroke in the community: A feasibility randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Self-Management Interventions
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Self-management behaviors are crucial for long-term condition management.
• Limited research exists on stroke-specific self-management interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of the Bridges stroke self-management program alongside usual rehabilitation.
• To compare the Bridges program plus usual care against usual care alone.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial with 25 participants over 13 months.
• Intervention group received 6 weekly sessions of the Bridges program.
• Feasibility assessed via recruitment, retention, adherence, outcome measures, fidelity, and acceptability.

Main Results:

• Eight of 12 participants in the intervention group completed all sessions.
• Intervention group showed greater improvements in self-efficacy, function, social integration, and quality of life.
• Professionals found the program acceptable; participant feedback was positive.

Conclusions:

• The Bridges program shows promising results but feasibility requires further investigation.
• Future research should explore integrated programs and address low recruitment.
• Further study on outcome measure sensitivity and intervention fidelity is needed.