Person and Environment Factors Supporting Self-Care Performance and Social Participation After Mild Stroke

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Occupational Therapy
• Public Health

Background:

• Mild stroke survivors are often overlooked for occupational therapy, despite reporting difficulties.
• Deficits in self-care and social participation can significantly impact quality of life after a mild stroke.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate person and environment factors influencing self-care and social participation in mild stroke survivors.
• To apply the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model to understand these influences.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analysis of 736 mild stroke survivors using electronic health records.
• Inclusion of demographic, clinical characteristics (person factors), and Social Vulnerability Index (environment factors).
• Logistic regression analysis to identify significant associations.

Main Results:

• Approximately 10% of mild stroke survivors reported deficits in self-care or social participation.
• Disability level was the sole person factor linked to self-care performance.
• Mobility and unemployment (person factors) influenced social participation.
• Socioeconomic status correlated with both self-care and social participation.

Conclusions:

• Occupational therapy interventions for mild stroke survivors must address both individual (person) and contextual (environment) factors.
• Recognizing and mitigating the impact of disability, unemployment, and socioeconomic status is crucial.
• A comprehensive approach is needed to enhance self-care and social reintegration for this population.