Poster 194: Association between community independence level and the ability to perform everyday tasks in community-dwelling stroke survivors.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the relationship between functional independence in basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) of stroke survivors living in the community. Design: Prospective, cohort, observational study. Setting: Community. Participants: Stroke survivors living in the community 1 year postdischarge from an acute inpatient rehabilitation program. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: A structured survey was administered by telephone. Outcome measures were the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), a measure of IADLs (scores can range from 15 to 52), and the FIM™ instrument, a measure of disability (scores can range from 18 to 126). Results: 57% of the stroke survivors were white, with a mean age ± SD of 63.8±14.4 years. The sample was evenly split between men and women. The majority of stroke patients (92%) were living in a private residence. The mean FIM score was 95.9±26.8 and mean total FAI score was 26.8±9.7. There was a significant and positive correlation between FAI scores and FIM scores ( r=.73, P<.001). Visual inspection of the relationship between FAI scores and FIM scores revealed that the data largely followed a curvilinear pattern. Curve estimation regression models were used to determine the line of best fit. A cubic function was found to give a good fit with an R 2 of .679. A score of approximately ≥80 on the FIM was associated with a substantially increased level of participation in home and community activities. Conclusion: There was a strong relationship between the level of participation in IADLs and level of functional independence.