ISCHAEMIC STROKE PATIENTS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDING

Abstract

Contemporary health care (HC) practices have been extremely important, especially for patients after ischaemic stroke (IS) who have different degrees of disability and co-morbidities. Objective: To analyze the opinion of IS patients hospitalized in specialized clinics/wards regarding the identification of the specific HC needs and optimization of their management in the period of and after discharge. Material and Methods: For achieving the objective, 114 patients were investigated, representing 22.2% of the response, who were hospitalized for treatment and rehabilitation in specialized clinics/wards on the territory of four medical facilities in the town of Pleven. The study required the use of a complex of sociological and statistical methods: a direct anonymous survey was conducted with questions specially prepared for the purpose to study the opinion, feelings, attitudes and evaluations of the respondents on the investigated issues. Results: The greater share of the surveyed patients 83.3% (95), were dependent on care to varying degrees, and 57.9% (66) were definite that care at home should be supervised by a health professional. Home care for 85.1% (97) of the respondents would be provided by close relatives. Over half of the patients surveyed, 60.5% (69), believed that written home care instructions were required. Conclusion: Despite the preference of the ischaemic stroke patients to be cared for by their relatives, they woke up to the need for ritten guidelines, training and supervision from a health professional/nurse regarding their recovery at home.