The rehabilitation of stroke patients at community health centres in the Western Cape

Abstract

The rehabilitation of stroke patients can occur at different settings. These include in-patient settings, such as stroke units or general rehabilitation wards and out-patient settings, such as out-patient departments attached to hospitals, day hospital departments and the patients’ home. In South-Africa, day hospitals have been upgraded and are now referred to as Community Health Centres which provide comprehensive health services to the population. In the Western Cape these centres are faced with the rehabilitation of stroke patients who have been discharged early from hospital during the acute stage or who have never been admitted to hospitals. To date there is a lack of best practice guidelines and formal evaluations in terms of efficacy and effectiveness of rehabilitation at these centres. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the rehabilitation of stroke patients at Community Health Centres in the Metropole Region of the Western Cape. The structure, process and outcomes (SPO) model was used as a conceptual framework in this study.