Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults With Stroke

Stroke is a leading cause of disability. Occupational therapy practitioners ensure maximum participation and performance in valued occupations for stroke survivors and their caregivers.

These Practice Guidelines are meant to support occupational therapy practitioners' clinical decision making when working with people after stroke and their caregivers.

Clinical recommendations were reviewed from three systematic review questions on interventions to improve performance and participation in daily activities and occupations and from one question on maintaining the caregiving role for caregivers of people after stroke.

The systematic reviews included 168 studies, 24 Level 1a, 90 Level 1b, and 54 Level 2b. These studies were used as the basis for the clinical recommendations in these Practice Guidelines and have strong or moderate supporting evidence.

Interventions with strong strength of evidence for improving performance in activities of daily living and functional mobility include mirror therapy, task-oriented training, mental imagery, balance training, self-management strategies, and a multidisciplinary three-stages-of-care rehabilitation program. Constraint-induced therapy has strong strength of evidence for improving performance of instrumental activities of daily living. Moderate strength of evidence supported cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to address balance self-efficacy, long-term group intervention to improve mobility in the community, and a wearable upper extremity sensory device paired with training games in inpatient rehabilitation to improve social participation. Practitioners should incorporate problem-solving therapy in combination with CBT or with education and a family support organizer program. What This Article Adds: These Practice Guidelines provide a summary of strong and moderate evidence for effective interventions for people with stroke and for their caregivers.