This paper is a report of a review conducted to provide an overview of the evidence in the literature on task-oriented training of stroke survivors and its relevance in daily nursing practice. Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of adult disability in the Western world. The use of neurodevelopmental treatment in the daily nursing care of stroke survivors does not improve clinical outcomes. Nurses are therefore exploring other forms of rehabilitation intervention, including task-oriented rehabilitation. Despite the growing number of studies showing evidence on task-oriented interventions, recommendations for daily nursing practice are lacking. A range of databases was searched to identify papers addressing taskoriented training in stroke rehabilitation, including Medline, CINAHL, Embase and the Cochrane Library of systematic reviews. Papers published in English between January 1996 and September 2007 were included. There were 42 papers in the final dataset, including nine systematic reviews. Review methods: The selected randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews were assessed for quality. Important characteristics and outcomes were extracted and summarized. Results: Studies of task-related training showed benefits for functional outcome compared with traditional therapies. Active use of task-oriented training with stroke survivors will lead to improvements in functional outcomes and overall healthrelated quality of life. Conclusion. Generally, task-oriented rehabilitation proved to be more effective. Many interventions are feasible for nurses and can be performed in a ward or at home. Nurses can and should play an important role in creating opportunities to practise meaningful functional tasks outside of regular therapy sessions.
Objective: To systematically review and critically appraise the literature on measurement properties of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols for measuring aerobic capacity, VO2max, in persons after stroke. Data sources: PubMed, Embase and Cinahl were searched from inception up to 15 June 2016. A total of 9 studies were identified reporting on 9 different cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. Study selection: VO2max measured with cardiopulmonary exercise test and open spirometry was the construct of interest. The target population was adult persons after stroke. We included all studies that evaluated reliability, measurement error, criterion validity, content validity, hypothesis testing and/ or responsiveness of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. Data extraction: Two researchers independently screened the literature, assessed methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist and extracted data on measurement properties of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. Data synthesis: Most studies reported on only one measurement property. Best-evidence synthesis was derived taking into account the methodological quality of the studies, the results and the consistency of the results. Conclusion: No judgement could be made on which protocol is “best” for measuring VO2max in persons after stroke due to lack of high-quality studies on the measurement properties of the cardiopulmonary exercise test.
Background: A significant part of neurological rehabilitation focuses on facilitating the learning of motor skills. Training can adopt either (more) explicit or (more) implicit forms of motor learning. Gait is one of the most practiced motor skills within rehabilitation in people after stroke because it is an important criterion for discharge and requirement for functioning at home. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the design of a randomized controlled study assessing the effects of implicit motor learning compared with the explicit motor learning in gait rehabilitation of people suffering from stroke. Methods: The study adopts a randomized, controlled, single-blinded study design. People after stroke will be eligible for participation when they are in the chronic stage of recovery (>6 months after stroke), would like to improve walking performance, have a slow walking speed (<1 m/s), can communicate in Dutch, and complete a 3-stage command. People will be excluded if they cannot walk a minimum of 10 m or have other additional impairments that (severely) influence gait. Participants will receive 9 gait-training sessions over a 3-week period and will be randomly allocated to an implicit or explicit group. Therapists are aware of the intervention they provide, and the assessors are blind to the intervention participants receive. Outcome will be assessed at baseline (T0), directly after the intervention (T1), and after 1 month (T2). The primary outcome parameter is walking velocity. Walking performance will be assessed with the 10-meter walking test, Dynamic Gait Index, and while performing a secondary task (dual task). Self-reported measures are the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale, verbal protocol, Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale, and the Global Perceived Effect scale. A process evaluation will take place to identify how the therapy was perceived and identify factors that may have influenced the effectiveness of the intervention. Repeated measures analyses will be conducted to determine significant and clinical relevant differences between groups and over time. Results: Data collection is currently ongoing and results are expected in 2019. Conclusions: The relevance of the study as well as the advantages and disadvantages of several aspects of the chosen design are discussed, for example, the personalized approach and choice of measurements.
Cliënten met een CVA (cerebrovascular accident of beroerte) hebben verschillende voorkeuren m.b.t. de training van arm-hand vaardigheden (AHV). Adelante heeft de laatste jaren effectieve behandelconcepten voor deze training ontwikkeld die op de laatste inzichten omtrent neurorevalidatie en motorisch leren zijn gebaseerd. Door de korte revalidatieduur blijft de training vaak beperkt tot een gering aantal AHV, wat tot een suboptimale uitkomst leidt. Ergo- en fysiotherapeuten van Adelante willen cliënten vaker, intensiever en in meer realistische omgevingen laten trainen. Belangrijk is dat cliënten veilig zelfstandig kunnen oefenen en van feedback voorzien worden en dat de inhoud van de training t.o.v. huidige programma’s verrijkt wordt. Een nieuw revalidatieprotocol voor immersive Virtual Reality (VR)-ondersteunde AHV training zou hiervoor een oplossingsrichting kunnen zijn, maar er bestaan nog geen commercieel verkrijgbare producten die aan de eisen van professionals en cliënten voldoen. De ergo- en fysiotherapeuten verwachten dat de toepassing van VR binnen een AHV training efficiënter is, tot snellere en betere resultaten (o.a. door betere generaliseerbaarheid/ een betere transfer), en tot lagere behandelkosten leidt. De toevoeging van immersieve virtuele omgevingen die zo (gepersonaliseerd) aanpasbaar zijn dat de cliënt zoveel mogelijk en zelfstandig in de eigen leefomgeving kan oefenen en feedback krijgt, is innovatief voor de revalidatie. Om deze innovatie te kunnen realiseren, wordt in het beoogde project de volgende onderzoeksvraag beantwoord: “Hoe dient een immersieve VR-applicatie vormgegeven te worden om revalidanten met een CVA zo optimaal mogelijk te ondersteunen bij het trainen van AHV?” Het uitgangspunt hierbij is Design Thinking. In vijf fases (Empathising, Defining, Ideating, Prototyping en Testing, met diverse iteraties) worden in co-creatie met alle stakeholders immersieve virtuele omgevingen en geschikte hardware/ interfaces voor toepassing in AHV training ontwikkeld en inzicht verkregen in de meerwaarde, hanteerbaarheid en implementatie van VR bij revalidanten met problemen op het gebied van AHV als gevolg van een CVA.
