| dc.description.abstract | Problem: Stroke is a significant health problem that affects 795,000 Americans per year. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Transition of care to outpatient settings can be very challenging for stroke survivors. Effective stroke education can help smooth the transition and reduce the risk of recurrent stroke. Often times, stroke education is provided during hospital stay; however, there is not a standard process to evaluate its effectiveness. Project Aims: This quality improvement project conducted at a 300-bed community hospital in suburban metropolitan area consisted of three aims: (1) implement an education needs assessment amongst hospitalized stroke patients on the acute stroke unit prior to their transition of care to the outpatient setting; (2) identify strengths, areas for improvement, and gaps in the current inpatient stroke education process; (3) make recommendations on potential education topics to inform the development of community-based stroke education classes. Project Methods: The Post Stroke Education Assessment (PSEA) survey was used to conduct the needs assessment during a two-month period. Eligible participants (n = 10) were first-time stroke patients being discharged. The PSEA survey was completed by patients and/or their caregivers prior to discharge. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Project Findings: Strengths for the inpatient stroke education included adequate education frequency and on topics like what stroke is, action plans for reoccurrence of stroke, and medications. Areas for improvement included delivery of education folder at admission, diversifying education delivery methods, assessing patients’ readiness to learn, and enhancing education topics on risk factors, residual deficits, prognosis, recovery, complications, warning signs/symptoms, impact on psychological and emotional health/family, follow-up appointments and local resources. Conclusions: This project helped identified strengths, areas for improvement, and gaps in inpatient stroked-related education. This information could be used to improve the timing, delivery, and content areas of the education, which could eventually facilitate a smooth transition of care into an outpatient setting. | |
