A stroke prevalence study was carried out in five hospitals within the Nottingham Area Health Authority on a selected day in May 1985, using both the acute medical and health care of the elderly wards. The data were gathered by the nursing staff. Of 913 patients, 187 (20.5%) had been admitted to hospital as a direct consequence of stroke and a further 83 (9.1 %) had a history of stroke unrelated to their current hospitalization. Approximately one in three patients on health care of the elderly wards had sustained a stroke as compared with approximately one in eight of those on medical wards. Dependency in each of seven activities was significantly correlated with the number of strokes sustained.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Hunt LBThe elderly in hospital: recent trends in use of medical resources. Br Med J Supplement1973; 4: 83-85.
2.
Weill C., Schneider T.The cost of cerebrovascular accidents in France in 1982. In: Rose FC ed. Stroke: epidemiological, therapeutic and socio-economic aspects. London: Royal Society of Medicine Services Limited, 1986.
3.
Garraway M.Management of cerebrovascular disease: a community perspective. In: Ross Russell RW ed. Vascular disease of the central nervous system. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1983.
4.
Magid S., Rhys Hearn C.Characteristics of geriatric patients as related to nursing needs. Int J Nurs Stud1981; 18: 97-106.
5.
Myco F.Nursing care of the hemiplegic stroke patient in general medical wards in hospitals in Northern Ireland. PhD Thesis. New University of Ulster, 1984.
6.
Oxford Regional Hospital Board.Measurement of nursing care. Publication No. 9, Operational Research Unit, Oxford Research Hospital Board, Oxford, 1967.
7.
Miller A.Nurse/patient dependency - is it iatrogenic?J Adv Nursing1985; 10: 63-69.
8.
Bourestom NCPredictors of long-term recovery in cerebrovascular disease. Arch Phys Med Rehabil1967; 48: 415-19.
9.
Wade DT, Langton Hewer R, Skilbeck CE, David RMStroke: A critical approach to diagnosis, treatment and management. London: Chapman and Hall, 1985.
10.
Wilson-Barnett J.Review of patient-nurse dependency studies . Department of Health and Social Security (unpublished report) 1978; 1-114.
11.
Feigenson J. , Polkow L, Meikle R, Ferguson W. Burke Stroke Time-Oriented Profile (BUSSTOP): an overview of patient function. Arch Phys Med Rehabil1979; 60: 508-11.
