Regional Differences in the Use of Out-Patient Services by Stroke Patients after Hospitalisation

Vol. 53, No. 1, 2005

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Original Paper

Regional Differences in the Use of Out-Patient Services by Stroke Patients after Hospitalisation
Han Boter^a, Rob J. de Haan^b, Gabriël J.E. Rinkel^a

^aDepartment of Neurology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre, Utrecht and
^bDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Address of Corresponding Author

Eur Neurol 2005;53:10-14 (DOI: 10.1159/000082955)

Key Words

Review literature
Cerebrovascular disorders
Health services
Rehabilitation

Abstract

Background: To improve the quality of life in stroke patients, outreach care programmes are developed and assessed for effectiveness. The generalisability of the trials' results is uncertain since information on the comparability of the conventional out-patient services is lacking. This study intended to assess the use of 11 types of conventional out-patient services by stroke patients in the United States and a predefined set of Western European countries. Methods: Review of the literature from 1990 to 2001. Results: We found 11 studies, which contained data on 1,875 patients of 6 countries. Large differences in the use of out-patient services within and between countries prohibited pooling of the data. Conclusions: The paucity of data on the use of conventional out-patient services by stroke patients and the regional differences found do not substantiate generalisability of the results from studies on outreach care for stroke patients.

Author Contacts

Han Boter
Department of Psychiatry (A01.126)
University Medical Centre Utrecht, PO Box 85500
NL-3508 GA Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Tel. +31 30 2509046, Fax +31 30 2505443, E-Mail h.boter@azu.nl

Article Information

Received: May 24, 2004
Accepted: October 28, 2004
Published online: December 27, 2004
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 3, Number of References : 22

Medline Abstract (ID 15627774)

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