Current Trends in Occupational Therapy Treatment for People with Stroke

The purpose of this study was to describe typical practice in stroke rehabilitation based on self-reports of currently practicing occupational therapists and to determine if research evidence is a factor in treatment decisions. Two hundred and fifty surveys were sent to occupational therapists who were members of the Physical Disabilities Special Interest Section of the American Occupational Therapy Association and 76 completed surveys were returned. The findings indicated that most ADL were addressed commonly with clients post-stroke and that occupation-based methods were used more often than more traditional remediation approaches. Also, there were several treatment methods which therapists commonly used for each impairment often seen following stroke. Clinical experience guided treatment decisions more often than research evidence. This study begins to clarify the complexity of stroke rehabilitation by linking the interventions that are used most often by occupational therapists with specific impairments often seen following stroke