Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors that contribute to living well with aphasia in
the first 12 months poststroke. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal cohort study.
SETTING: Hospitalized care, ambulatory care, and general community. PARTICIPANTS:
A referred sample of people
(N=58) with a first incidence of aphasia after stroke
was assessed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postonset. Participants were recruited
through speech-language pathologists in 2 capital cities in Australia. Presence
of aphasia was determined through the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised by an
experienced speech-language pathologist. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcomes were the 5 domains of the Assessment for
Living with Aphasia at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months poststroke. The independent
variables included demographics, physical functioning, social network, mood,
aphasia severity, and a self-rating of successfully living with aphasia at the
same time points. Mixed effects modeling was used to determine which factors
contributed to the trajectory of each of the 5 domains of participation,
impairment, environment, personal factors, and life with aphasia. RESULTS: Higher
household income, larger social network size, being a woman, and having milder
aphasia were positively associated with the participation domain. Graduate or
postgraduate educational levels, low mood, and poor physical functioning were
negatively associated with the participation domain. Factors positively
associated with other domains included higher income, self-ratings of
successfully living with aphasia, and aphasia severity. Low mood was consistently
negatively associated with all of the domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial
determinants were the most significant predictors of living well with aphasia in
the first 12 months postonset. Aphasia rehabilitation needs to attend more to
these factors to optimize outcomes.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS