To evaluate the influence of family rehabilitation on limb function and quality of life in patients after stroke and to compare family rehabilitation with inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient guidance.

Forty-five patients after stroke were randomly divided into three groups to receive family rehabilitation, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient guidance, respectively, with 15 cases in each group. All the three groups were given conventional comprehensive rehabilitation treatment. After hospital discharge, the family rehabilitation group was given training guidance for family rehabilitation, and the outpatient guidance group was followed on an outpatient basis once a month. At three and six months after treatment, the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and the MOS 36-item short from health survey (SF-36) were used for evaluations and comparisons. Average medical expense was also compared among the three groups.

Before treatment, the FMA, MBI, and SF-36 scores in the three groups had no significant difference (P>0.05). At three and six months after treatment, the family rehabilitation group and inpatient rehabilitation group had significantly improved FMA, MBI, and SF-36 scores compared with the scores before treatment (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the FMA, MBI, or SF-36 score between the family rehabilitation group [three months: (60.26±10.46), (66.36±9.25), and (62.55±12.95); six months: (74.58±11.58), (77.12±12.78), and (79.52±11.32), respectively] and the inpatient rehabilitation group [three months: (63.28±12.59), (68.21±11.35), and (79.52±11.32); six months: (76.16±12.63), (79.12±12.54), and (80.41±12.26), respectively] (P>0.05). After three or six months of treatment, the outpatient guidance group had no significant improvement with regard to the above three scores (P>0.05). There was a significant difference in the above three scores between the outpatient guidance group and the other two groups (P<0.05). Average medical expense was significantly lower in the family rehabilitation group and outpatient guidance group than in the inpatient rehabilitation group.

Family rehabilitation can improve the limb function and quality of life and reduce the medical expense in patients after stroke.

Stroke; Quality of life; Family rehabilitation