The Time Use and Activity Levels of Inpatients in a Co-located Acute and Rehabilitation Stroke Unit: An Observational Study

Abstract

PURPOSE: Stroke patients spend a large proportion of their day alone and inactive. In one rehabilitation unit, practice changes had been implemented over several years to improve patient activity levels and practice, yet measures of patient activity had not been recorded. The aim of this study was to obtain baseline measures of the time use and activity levels of inpatients in that co-located acute and rehabilitation stroke unit. METHODS: A quantitative observational design was used. The behavior of 11 inpatients was mapped at 15-minute intervals over 4 days between 7 am and 7 pm. Observations were recorded across 7 categories, including physical activity, location and person(s) present, and 42 possible subcategories. Thirteen allied health and nursing professionals were trained to record these observations and interrater reliability was examined. Frequencies, cross-tabulations, and t tests were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Stroke patients spent a large proportion of the day in their bedroom, engaged in solitary behavior and being inactive (76%, 44% and 62% of observed time, respectively). Patients spent 11% of their weekday with an allied health or nursing professional. Good interrater agreement was achieved between raters for 41 of the 42 observational categories. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide a baseline for comparison following implementation of more practice change. A trained team of health professionals was able to reliably collect data.