The contribution of rehabilitative nursing techniques to the recovery of patients who have had cerebral vascular accidents

This study represents the attempt of the investigator to determine the effectiveness of a consistent rehabilitative nursing care plan applied to a selected group of patients with cerebral vascular accidents. For the experimental group a 23 bed medical unit in a 275 bed private hospital was selected fro the study. An inservice teaching program of basic nursing measures directed toward rehabilitation of the patient with cerebral vascular accident was developed by the investigator. All staff members in the experimental unit attended the inservice program. Basic nursing measures advocated in the teaching program were adapted to individual needs of the experimental group of patients. The investigator supervised the nursing care give to the experimental group. The experimental group consisted of five male patients between the ages of fifty-four and sixty-five. The cerebral vascular accident of each was caused by a thrombosis, and the prognosis based on the doctor's judgment was fair to good with expected progress. The study in this unit covered a period of four months. A record of the progress of this group in ambulation and self care activity was kept for the duration of the hospital stay. A medical unit in a private hospital with a 382 bed capacity and a medical unit in a private hospital with a 450 bed capacity were selected as sources for the control group. The five patients with cerebral vascular accidents in the control group met the same criteria for selection as the experimental group. The selection of patients was done in the same four month period. The control hospitals did not receive the inservice teaching program of nursing care advocated by the teaching program. A review of literature was done pointing out the need for more stress to be placed on rehabilitation in nursing practice. The institution of immediate rehabilitative nursing care measures on patients with cerebral vascular accidents was emphasized. The inservice teaching plan developed for the study by the investigator is centered a round four basic nursing measures: positioning, range of motion, self care activities, and ambulation. The t test was use to test the significance of the difference between the progress of the experimental and control group in self care activity and ambulation. Findings of this study were: A sample of selected patients with a cerebral vascular accident who received a consistent nursing care plan directed toward rehabilitation assumed self care activities more readily than a comparative control group, members of which did not receive this nursing care plan. The patients under this nursing care plan also ambulated more readily then those who were not. A significant statistical difference was shown. The investigator recommends as a result of this study and a review of literature that more scientific research in the application of nursing care should be done.