Effectiveness of the Dyadic Coping Intervention of Social Participation (DCISP) for stroke survivors: study protocol...

Enhancing social participation is not only the main goal of stroke survivors' community rehabilitation but also a protective factor affecting their physical and emotional health. The current state of stroke survivors' social participation is not encouraging due to the high disability incidence of stroke. Spouses may play a facilitating role in the social participation of patients by providing them with support and assistance. However, there remains a lack of evidence specifically regarding dyadic coping interventions of social participation for stroke survivors, and the intervention strategies are still underdeveloped without clear theoretical frameworks. Therefore, this proposed study aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the Dyadic Coping Intervention of Social Participation (DCISP) for survivors of first-episode homebound stroke.

A single-blind (assessor-blinded), randomized controlled trial will be conducted to verify the effectiveness of DCISP. The randomized controlled trial will be preceded by a feasibility study (N = 20) of DCISP in stroke survivors. Stroke survivors will be randomly classified (1:1) into either a control (N = 50) or an experimental group (N = 50). In addition to routine care, participants in the experimental group will receive six 40 ~ 45 min sessions of guidance, once every two weeks. The primary outcome is social participation of stroke survivors, measured using Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire (IPA) and Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation (USER-P), and the secondary outcomes will be measured by Knowledge Questionnaire for Stroke Patients (SPKQ), Stroke-specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL), Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI), Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI-22). These will be measured at baseline(T0), during the intervention (T1 = 1 month), and after intervention completion (T2 = 3 months, T3 = 6 months).

Findings from the study will provide evidence of the effects of DCISP on improving the social participation of first-episode homebound stroke survivors. The results of this study may support the implementation of survivor-spouse dyads care support in stroke survivors and provide a reference for clinical rehabilitation nursing practice, offering new insights into nursing interventions for stroke patients.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) ChiCTR2400083072. Registered on 20 July 2023.