Classification of occupational therapy intervention for inpatient stroke rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE. We investigated the specific type of occupational therapy intervention used by occupational therapists during inpatient stroke rehabilitation in one midwestern U.S. hospital to determine the frequency of prefunctional versus functional activity use. METHOD. A retrospective chart analysis was conducted of clients who received inpatient stroke rehabilitation between January 2003 and June 2004. Type of intervention, intervention strategies, and adaptive equipment use were recorded for each session provided. RESULTS. The majority of sessions (65.77%, n = 1,022) consisted of activities that were prefunctional in nature compared with 48.26% (n=750) that focused on activities of daily living. Musculoskeletal intervention strategies were used in more than half (52.25%) of the sessions. CONCLUSION. More sessions were spent on prefunctional than on functional activities, and musculoskeletal intervention strategies were most common. Future research studies are warranted to determine the most effective intervention for this client population.