Home-Based Rehabilitation for Stroke Patients
Summary
Home-based rehabilitation for stroke patients encompasses therapeutic interventions delivered in the patient’s own residence rather than in hospital or clinic settings. This model typically involves a multidisciplinary team—physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and nursing staff—tailoring exercises, activities of daily living retraining and cognitive tasks to the individual’s home environment. Early Supported Discharge (ESD) programmes aim to transition patients swiftly from acute stroke units to home care, reducing inpatient stay and promoting functional recovery within familiar surroundings. Advances in tele-rehabilitation, using video conferencing, wearable sensors and virtual reality, have further extended the reach of home-based services, enabling remote monitoring and real-time feedback. Evidence suggests that home-based approaches can match or exceed in-patient outcomes in mobility, self-care and quality of life, with potential cost-effectiveness through reduced hospital bed occupancy. However, success depends on structured interprofessional collaboration, clear communication pathways, appropriate financial frameworks and the degree of informal caregiver support. Global implementation varies with health-system resources, rural versus urban settings and cultural attitudes towards home care. Practical benefits include increased patient autonomy, contextualised task practice and psychological comfort, while challenges lie in standardising protocols, ensuring therapist safety and overcoming technological or environmental barriers.
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Home-Based Rehabilitation for Stroke Patients publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in home-based rehabilitation for stroke patients across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Early Supported Discharge (ESD): A model enabling patients to leave hospital sooner and receive rehabilitation at home from a coordinated team.
Modified Rankin Scale (mRS): A six-point scale measuring global disability and dependence in daily activities after stroke.
Barthel Index: A ten-item measure assessing performance in basic activities of daily living such as feeding, bathing and mobility.
Tele-rehabilitation: The delivery of rehabilitation services and monitoring via telecommunications technology, often including video conferencing or wearable sensors.
Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY): A composite measure combining length of life and health-related quality of life, used in economic evaluations.
Multidisciplinary Team: A group of healthcare professionals from different specialties collaborating on patient assessment, goal-setting and intervention planning.
References
- Effectiveness of home rehabilitation for ischemic stroke. Neurology International (2009).
- Economic evidence on integrated care for stroke patients; a systematic review. International Journal of Integrated Care (2012).
- A qualitative evidence synthesis exploring people after stroke, family members, carers and healthcare professionals’ experiences of early supported discharge (ESD) after stroke. PLOS ONE (2023).
- Factors influencing the implementation of Home-Based Stroke Rehabilitation: Professionals’ perspective. PLOS ONE (2019).
- Evaluation of an Extended Stroke Rehabilitation Service (EXTRAS). Stroke (2019).
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