Stroke Follow up study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Return to work after stroke-feasibility five to six years follow up
IRAS ID
208788
Contact name
K Radford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 29 days
Research summary
Returning to work/education is a major goal for many stroke survivors but fewer than 50% of those working at stroke onset return (Daniel et al. 2009). People who do not return to work face a lifetime of state dependence. A survey of 2200 UK stroke survivors found 69% of 25-59 year olds were unable to return to work (Stroke Association, 2015).
Forty six people who were in work or full time education and then admitted to hospital with a stroke consented to take part in a pilot feasibility randomised control trial. Half the participants received early stroke specific vocational rehabilitation (ESSVR) intervention, delivered by an occupational therapist. Half received usual NHS rehabilitation (Usual care). The ESSVR was individually tailored to the individual’s needs. At 12-month post stroke, 63% of all participants returned to work at some point; 37% reported being in work at 12 months. With ESSVR, twice as many people were in work at 12 months post-stroke than with usual care, suggesting ESSVR may be more effective than usual NHS rehabilitation at helping stroke survivors return to or retain work. People in work were also less depressed.
However, what is not known is whether we can follow up participants in the longer term which is important for designing future trials. Also, it is not known whether this early stroke specific intervention has any impact longer term on participants work status, mood and quality of life. This is important from an individual’s perspective but also to help ascertain whether this early intervention can reduce health service use in the longer term. Following up all stroke patients who were in work prior to their stroke and were discharged home offers the ideal opportunity to identify factors affecting work outcomes in a group of stroke survivors who were known to be working at stroke onset. Some of whom may have received a specialist intervention which was focussed on supporting job retention delivered by an occupational therapist.Therefore we seek to determine whether stroke patients who were working prior to their stroke and were discharged from Derby Hospitals NHS Trust between July 2010 to December 2011 and who may or may not have participated in the Return to work after stroke study can be contacted five to six years post stroke.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0423
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion