Using social support theory to care for CVA patients

The purpose of this article is to describe how social support theory was used to guide the nursing care of patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit in a large teaching hospital in a metropolitan medical center. Criteria from Caplan's Social Support Theory (Caplan & Killilea, 1976) were used to outline a plan that included input from significant others to create a plan for their loved ones who were recovering from left-side CVAs. All nursing care was based on the cognitive and intellectual abilities of the patients. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the use of these nursing protocols.