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

The study used a convenience sample of first-time stroke patients and English-speaking caregivers with a planned community discharge goal, so it may not apply to caregivers who did not consent, did not speak English, had prior stroke, or had different discharge goals. Only 25 of 60 consented dyads completed both admission and discharge surveys, and some caregivers withdrew after seeing the questions, so the analysed group may not represent all caregivers. The design did not include a comparison group that did not receive inpatient rehabilitation, so the observed PATH-s change cannot be attributed to the rehabilitation program alone. Inpatient rehabilitation included many team-based therapies and education visits, so the contribution of any single component, including caregiver education timing, cannot be isolated. The PATH-s was self-reported, was not assessed after discharge, and was not evaluated against longer-term patient outcomes, so longer-term caregiver readiness or patient recovery was not measured. Survey length and administration without nurse or social worker support may have affected response rates and answers.

Do not conclude that inpatient stroke rehabilitation or caregiver education caused the readiness increase. The study had no comparison group, only 25 analysed dyads, and usual rehabilitation involved many team members and education visits, so the effect of any single component cannot be isolated.