Impact of a stroke care pathway on self-perceived health 3 months after stroke

A national stroke care pathway aiming at reducing time delays in stroke care was implemented in Norway in 2018. This study aimed to investigate the impact of goal attainment in the pre- and intrahospital care pathway on self-perceived health 3 months after stroke.

Data from the Norwegian Stroke Register (NSR) from 2019 were used. Patients were classified into attainment or non-attainment groups, depending on goal achievement of the SCP. Linear regression analyses were used to assess a possible association between goal attainment and self-perceived health evaluated by EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS at 3 months post-stroke.

Among 4,133 included patients, 908 (22%) were included in the attainment group. We found no effect of goal attainment upon mean EQ-5D-5L. However, when adjusting for stroke severity, attaining the SCP was significantly associated with self-perceived health.

In this study, with a cohort of patients with mild to moderate strokes, we found no association between attaining goals of the stroke care pathway and self-perceived health. However, stroke severity might have acted as a suppressor variable underscoring the importance of stroke severity for self-perceived health.