Abstract

Because of the high incidence and because of the subsequent neurological deficiency leading to serious disability, stroke represents the fundamental cause of disablement. The stroke patient’s quality of life depends on the accessibility of rehabilitation. The present paper aims to find relationships between quality of life and accessibility of rehabilitation among stroke patients.
METHODS. Altogether 81 stroke patients treated in Tartu University Hospital from May till the end of December 2006 took part in the study. The patients’ quality of life was evaluated with Barthel’s index (BI). To obtain the patients’ evaluation of health and accessibility of rehabilitation they were interviewed three to four months after stroke.
RESULTS. Of the 81 stroke patients, 46.9% were male and 53.1% were female. The average age of the patients was 71.67 ± 0.95 years. After inpatient rehabilitation, 37% of the patients passed outpatient rehabilitation. The average value of BI increased during the observation period of three to four months on average by a margin of 4.46 points; the most important change took place during inpatient rehabilitation. The average value of BI of patients who passed rehabilitation after their hospital stay changed by a margin of 1.77 ± 0.68 points, while for the others, it changed by 0.27 ± 0.36 points (p <0.04).
CONCLUSION. Although, the stroke patients’ quality of life depends on several factors, the timeliness and continuity of care are still very important for these patients to ensure the best possible improvement and quality of life and to achieve greater independence of outward help.