Stroke victims need to ‘get out and about’
Getting stroke victims out and about is a form of positive therapy which senior researcher, Dr Annie McCluskey, will continue pursuing after being awarded a special two year study Fellowship.
A senior lecturer in occupational therapy in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney, Dr McCkuskey has received a Fellowship from the National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS), co-sponsored by the HCF (The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia) Health and Medical Research Foundation.
She will use the Fellowship to encourage stroke victims to get out and about after returning home from hospital and will undertake this project at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in south western Sydney.
Stroke affects over 345,000 Australians, is one of the leading causes of disability, and the second highest cause of death in adults. Over 48,000 strokes occur each year in Australia, with around one third of survivors experiencing an ongoing disability that limits their participation in home and community life.
Dr McCluskey said :“Without help, these people can experience social isolation and associated mood disorders that impact on their quality of life. The National Stroke Foundation has developed guidelines which recommend a series of targeted home and community visits as the most effective intervention to get people out of their homes as often as they wish, but this is not being routinely provided.
“I aim to help local occupational therapists implement the guideline recommendation by identifying current practice and working with them to overcome barriers to best practice,” she said.
