Cerebrovascular accident: relationship of demographic, diagnostic, and occupational therapy antecedents to rehabilitation outcomes.

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to identify factors that were significant in predicting occupational therapy treatment choices and discharge outcomes after inpatient rehabilitation for 112 patients who had experienced a cerebrovascular accident. METHOD A retrospective descriptive study was conducted. RESULTS According to discriminant function analysis, the cerebrovascular accident disability score (i.e., level of functional disability) during the initial evaluation period was the predictor of discharge outcomes with the most clinical significance. A greater proportion of occupational therapy assessment units was the most influential occupational therapy factor associated with a positive discharge outcome. In one inpatient rehabilitation setting, a greater proportion of occupational therapy intervention for all study subjects was directed at the level of impairment compared to the level of disability. CONCLUSION Shorter inpatient stays, as well as shifts to outpatient rehabilitation, may require occupational therapists to examine whether intervention at the level of impairment or disability yields the best functional outcomes for patients who have sustained a cerebrovascular accident.