Teaching carers to deliver therapy for the arm and hand post stroke
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Teaching carers to deliver physical therapy for the upper limb post Stroke (TaPpS): a feasibility study
IRAS ID
341844
Contact name
Ali Aries
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
In the UK, around 100,000 people have a stroke each year; over 1.3 million people are living with stroke. Stroke commonly affects the arm and hand, reducing the ability to do daily activities, like gripping, picking up and using objects like hairbrushes and forks. This impacts people’s independence, often requiring long-term health and social support. Scientific research has shown that therapy involving hand massage, moving and stretching joints and muscles in the hand, and supporting reaching movements, can improve arm and hand strength and function, months, even years, after stroke. However, reality is that access to therapists to provide this therapy is limited; most people with stroke receive little therapy after being discharged from hospital.
We will work with informal carers (CarePartners), stroke survivors (SSs) and therapists to develop a training programme that teaches CarePartners how to provide arm and hand therapy at home. We will then have physiotherapists use the training package to train CarePartners to provide the arm and hand treatment, daily for six weeks. During that time, they will record exactly what treatment they give, how often and for how long, and note any reactions to treatments, overall feelings about the treatment and its effects. Support from a physiotherapist will be available. Before starting the treatment, after six weeks of treatment, and three months later, we will measure strength, feeling, and function in the SS’s arm, and SSs’ and CarePartners’ quality of life. We will explore whether delivering this treatment places excessive burden on CarePartners. The SSs and CarePartners will be invited to a group discussion to give feedback on the training, treatment at home, and tests we used. Their feedback will inform whether the training, treatment and tests have the potential to improve arm and hand movement in real-life/real NHS services. Therapists’ views will be sought through interviews.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/WM/0082
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion