Keeping the home care patient motivated to do intensive exercise practice

In the December edition of stroke http://bit.ly/h21GuE Dr. Asplund from Riks-Stroke, Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden looks at Patient Dissatisfaction With Acute Stroke Care. The group highlight the potential for reducing patient dissatisfaction by structural measures, such as access to care in a stroke unit, patient involvement in discharge planning, and systematic follow-up after discharge.
However the strongest predictor of dissatisfaction with acute care was poor functional outcome. IF the patient is dependent on caregivers for daily living this leads to a depressed mood state and poor self-perceived health.
Our experiences with the HandTutor system in the community setting show that providing the patient with an ergonomic glove and easy to use rehabilitation software motivates both the patient and their caregiver to do intensive exercise practice. The home care therapy sessions can be supported by physical and occupational therapists offering tele-rehabilitation which again gives the patient the feeling that the patient and care giver are not alone and there is still progress to be made in their physical rehabilitation.