부산대학교 도서관

Objectives: With the aging population, stroke is the main cause for physical disability in the elderly. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the impact of post-acute care (PAC) on quality of life among stroke patients. Methods: This prospective study evaluated stroke patients in levels 2-4 of the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) from 2015 to 2017 in two medical centers (non-PAC group) two regions hospitals and a district hospital (PAC group). The Barthel index, Functional oral intake scale, Euro QoL-5D, Lawton-Brody IADL Scale, Berg Balance Scale, Mini-mental state examination were used to evaluated quality of life at before rehabilitation, 6-week and 12-week after rehabilitation. Results: 368 patients were sampled in study and 317 (86.10%) had ischemic stroke. During the study period, all patients had a statistically significant improvement in quality of life (p ＜ 0.05). Compared to non-PAC group, PAC group showed a statistically better improvement in the EQ5D and IADL simultaneously (p ＜ 0.05). Pre-rehabilitation quality of life was positively associated with post-rehabilitation throughout the 12-week study (p ＜ 0.05). Conclusions: The PAC program can significantly improve the quality of life of stroke patients. The better the quality of life, the better the rehabilitation treatment. Long-term follow-up study is recommended.