Post-Stroke Activity Engagement in Community Dwellers: Association with Illness Perceptions and Perceived Environment

Abstract

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To test the hypothesis that post-stroke individuals' activity engagement is associated with their perceptions of stroke, as well as their perceptions of their physical and social environment. <h3>Design</h3> This study used a cross-sectional design. <h3>Setting</h3> Various rehabilitation settings in Beijing, China, including 4 hospital-based rehabilitation outpatient clinics, 2 rehabilitation centers, and 2 community rehabilitation health stations. <h3>Participants</h3> A convince sample of 202 dyads of Chinese community-dwellers with stroke and their caregivers participated in this study. <h3>Interventions</h3> Not applicable. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> We used: the Assessment of Life Habits, Mandarin version, to assess activity engagement; the Stroke-Specific Illness Perceptions Questionnaire–Revised to assess stroke individuals' and caregivers' illness perceptions; and the Social Support Survey and abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale to assess stroke individuals' perceived social and physical environment. <h3>Results</h3> In our participating samples, stroke individuals with positive illness perceptions performed better in their personal level activity engagement, and those who believed their neighborhoods positively support their daily lives performed better in their societal level activity engagement, after controlling for demographic and performance skill factors. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Post-stroke activity engagement is associated not only with stroke individuals' performance skills but also with their perceptions of stroke, and how they perceive their physical environment. The findings of this study may assist clinicians' decision making when developing comprehensive, targeted interventions for improving activity engagement and maximizing recovery after stroke. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.