Goal: Compare and contextualize stroke rehabilitation outcomes after inpatient care in 6 countries.

Design: prospective observational cohort study.

Setting: Four inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Europe, six IRF in the United States and one inpatient rehabilitation center in New Zealand.

Methods: In a European prospective study (CERISE, Collaborative Evaluation of Rehabilitation In Stroke across Europe), data were gathered on 540 consecutive stroke patients in 4 different centers in Europe (2002-2004). A very similar multi-center study took place in USA and New Zealand (Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes Project (PSROP), 2001-2004, n= 1,291). A first step consists out of , datapooling and -validation. Secondly, multivariate analyses are used to compare functional outcome, accounting for case-mix. Outcomes include: (1) functional outcome at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, (2) discharge destination after inpatient rehabilitation, (3) care trajectory till 6 months post-stroke, and (4) functional recovery at 6 months. The evidence will provide additional information for the development of guidelines on the enhancement of stroke rehabilitation services within the given institutional context.
Results: Pending

Conclusions: Pending

Keywords: International comparison; stroke; post-acute care; functional outcome.

Principal Investigator: Koen Putman, PhD

Title: Senior Research Associatet

E-mail: koen.d.putman@medstar.net

Phone: 44 115 9602 370

Affiliations/partners: Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research (ICOR) Department of Medical Sociology and Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.

Funding Source: Fulbright Commission, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Vrije Universiteit Brussel.