Benchmarking as everyday functional assessment in stroke recovery.

OBJECTIVES Functional assessment in stroke recovery extends beyond formal testing and evaluation. Stroke survivors themselves continuously engage in the process of reckoning their functional capacities as they go about their everyday lives. This process is called benchmarking. The aim of this article is to discuss and illustrate how it operates in three areas of experience--self-definition, comorbidity and age, and the tasks of daily life. METHODS Benchmarking data are drawn from in-depth qualitative interviews with male stroke survivors of various ages and from three ethnic groups (Hispanic, African American, and non-Hispanic White). RESULTS The results show that the benchmarking process is evident in all social categories in which survivors fall, but specific kinds of benchmarks may be more prominent in some categories than others. DISCUSSION The lessons provided by everyday functional assessment for understanding the stroke experience, as well as directions for further study, are discussed in the conclusion.