Health, Functioning, Work, and Experiences of Social and Health Services of Persons With Stroke

Overview

The purpose of the Health, functioning, work, and experiences of social and health services of persons with stroke study (FinPostStroke) is to identify factors related to self-reported health, functioning, work, inclusion, and accessibility of social and health services, and how such factors are interconnected in Finnish adults one or more years after stroke. Participants will be targeted from two tertiary hospitals' registries and recruited via mail. This cross-sectional explorative observational study is based on register data and postal survey. The survey questionnaire includes several valid patient-reported outcome measures. The study will add knowledge to be utilized in developing health care and rehabilitation services for people with stroke, as well as provide information for various parties involved.

The purpose of the Health, functioning, work, and experiences of social and health services of persons with stroke (FinPostStroke) study is to identify factors related to self-reported health, functioning, work, inclusion, and accessibility of social and health services, and how such factors are interconnected in Finnish adults one or more years after stroke. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is used as a structured framework. Adults with cerebral infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or intracerebral hemorrhage will be targeted from Kuopio and HUS Helsinki University Hospitals' patient registries. The survey data is planned to be collected with postal questionnaire by May 2025. The questionnaire includes several valid patient-reported outcome measures to assess health and functioning, work and income, inclusion, and social and health services. Participants will be recruited via mail with an invitation letter and study information attached to the questionnaire. All participants are expected to give written informed consent prior to the study. This study will add knowledge to be utilized in developing health care and rehabilitation services for people with stroke, as well as provide information for various parties involved. We plan to publish at least four peer-reviewed articles along with common articles and texts concerning self-reported health, functioning, work, inclusion, and accessibility of social and health services among Finnish adults with stroke.