Abstract
Background: Intensive exercise after stroke leads to better outcomes.
However, stroke survivors spend much of their hospital day
inactive and alone. This is especially true on the weekend when therapy
staff are absent. At Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital we designed
a weekend exercise class called the ‘Weekend Warriors’. This class
has task-specific lower limb exercises of varying levels of difficulty
that are prescribed by a physiotherapist and then run by a nursing
staff member for 1 h on Saturday and Sunday.
Aims: The research questions were:
(i) How many people attended the class?
(ii) How many exercise repetitions did they perform?
(iii) What were the patients’ and their families’ opinions of the class?
Methods: Data was collected using a mixed-method design including
data recording sheets for class participants to collect demographic
and repetition data and a written survey of patients and relatives to
determine their views on the class. Exercise repetitions were tallied
by patients and relatives using hand-held counters, this method has
been previously validated at this site.
Results: During the 4 weeks of data collection 11 stroke survivors
attended a total of 27 classes; they each completed an average of
272 (SD 157.6, range 60–650) exercise repetitions in a class.
Approximately half of the participants had a relative to assist them.
The patients and their relatives believed the program to be beneficial
and to assist their recovery. They thought it was well structured and
well supervised.
Conclusion: A nurse-led weekend exercise class is feasible in hospital
after stroke. This class was well received and allowed increased exercise
repetitions to be completed.
However, stroke survivors spend much of their hospital day
inactive and alone. This is especially true on the weekend when therapy
staff are absent. At Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital we designed
a weekend exercise class called the ‘Weekend Warriors’. This class
has task-specific lower limb exercises of varying levels of difficulty
that are prescribed by a physiotherapist and then run by a nursing
staff member for 1 h on Saturday and Sunday.
Aims: The research questions were:
(i) How many people attended the class?
(ii) How many exercise repetitions did they perform?
(iii) What were the patients’ and their families’ opinions of the class?
Methods: Data was collected using a mixed-method design including
data recording sheets for class participants to collect demographic
and repetition data and a written survey of patients and relatives to
determine their views on the class. Exercise repetitions were tallied
by patients and relatives using hand-held counters, this method has
been previously validated at this site.
Results: During the 4 weeks of data collection 11 stroke survivors
attended a total of 27 classes; they each completed an average of
272 (SD 157.6, range 60–650) exercise repetitions in a class.
Approximately half of the participants had a relative to assist them.
The patients and their relatives believed the program to be beneficial
and to assist their recovery. They thought it was well structured and
well supervised.
Conclusion: A nurse-led weekend exercise class is feasible in hospital
after stroke. This class was well received and allowed increased exercise
repetitions to be completed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | Session E.4 |
| Pages (from-to) | 11-11 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | International Journal of Stroke |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 supplement |
| Publication status | Published - Sep 2012 |