Complexity of Participation Post-Stroke: Longitudinal Assessment of Community Participation, Positive Affect, Social Support and Functional Independence.
Sameer A Ashaie, Nichol Castro
PMID 36102195WHAT IT FOUND
Three months after stroke rehab, religious or spiritual activity, happiness, social cognition, and socializing outside the home were the strongest links to more social support and motor independence at 12 months.
This was observational, not a treatment test.
Key findings
01The strongest links from 3 months to 12 months were social cognition to motor independence, religious or spiritual activities to motor independence, happiness to social support, and socializing outside the home to social support.
02The centrality rankings were not stable, so the variables identified as most influential should not be treated as firm targets.
03The participation network for stroke survivors with aphasia was very different from the network for those without aphasia, and only 44% of the aphasia network's links were shared.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The analysis used only the 544 participants with complete data, so people with missing measures were excluded. The study was observational and did not assign treatments, so it reports links rather than treatment effects. Only 3 months and 12 months after discharge were analysed, so relationships at other times were not examined. The centrality rankings were unstable, with stability coefficients 0.21 and 0.13, so the most central variables should not be treated as firm targets. Bootstrapped confidence intervals around edge weights ranged from small to large. The aphasia subgroup analysis was exploratory, and the authors warned that small sample sizes for each group require caution. The database had missing data on time post-stroke.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not report a funding source.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the strongest links as proof that making a stroke survivor happier, more religious or spiritual, or more socially active improves later motor independence or social support. The study was observational, used only two follow-up points, and the centrality rankings were unstable.