The difficulty of studying race-ethnic stroke rehabilitation disparities in a community.

Only 20 of 48 patients who received rehabilitation contributed forms, and only 13 of 63 partners used the forms, so the pilot did not provide enough data to describe rehabilitation activities or disparities. The study did not present data on rehabilitation activities because the sample was small. Data collection relied on therapists using forms during or shortly after sessions without project-related resources, which may have limited uptake. Uptake outside inpatient rehabilitation was minimal, and Mexican Americans in this community are less likely to receive inpatient rehabilitation, so the forms may miss settings where disparities could occur. The pilot was conducted in one county in south Texas, so it may not apply to other communities or rehabilitation systems. The forms included interventions specific to some sites and not used by all, so standardization across venues was limited.

The supplied article text does not include a conflicts-of-interest or funding declaration. The publication types note NIH extramural research support.

Do not conclude that community stroke rehabilitation data can be collected reliably by asking therapists to complete forms without additional resources. In this pilot, only 13 of 63 partners used the forms and 20 of 48 patients contributed data, and no rehabilitation activity data were presented.