Impact of Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation on Caregivers' Perceived Readiness for Patient Discharge

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which caregivers' perceived readiness for discharge improves after participating in a stroke inpatient rehabilitation program, as measured by their self-reported preparedness for transitioning patients to the community.

This was a prospective study involving pre- and postsurveys of caregivers.

The Preparedness Assessment for the Transition Home After Stroke (PATH-s) survey instrument was administered to caregivers of patients following a stroke at admission and discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. The PATH-s final score is an average that ranges from 1 to 4. A higher average score indicates higher readiness for discharge.

Twenty-five patient-caregiver dyads complete the study protocol representing a 42% survey response rate of consented participants for both the initial and discharge PATH-s surveys. The initial mean PATH-s was 2.86 ( SD = 0.434), and the discharge mean PATH-s was 3.25 ( SD = 0.436). The differences between these scores were significant ( Z = -4.280, p ≤ .0001), suggesting participation with inpatient rehabilitation following a stroke improved the caregivers' self-reported readiness for discharge.

It is important for rehabilitation nurses to be aware of the caregiver's self-reported readiness for discharge to address any issues identified to improve transition for discharge following a stroke.

Caregiver readiness for discharge is an important issue yet it may be an undervalued aspect of the care delivery system.