Association of Admission Functional Status and Assistive Device Provision for Veterans Post-stroke – A Retrospective Study

Objectives To provide knowledge about (a) the provision of assistive devices in practice and (b) the challenges of standardizing device provision. Design Retrospective study using Department of Veteran Affairs National Prosthetic Patient Database and other administrative databases. The cohort included all veterans treated by the VA for stroke during fiscal years 2007-2008. Descriptive methods were used to analyze data with emphasis on inspecting relationships between device provision and motor and cognitive function using Functional Independence Measure scores. Results A total of 8,374 Veterans treated for stroke and receiving at least one assistive device are included. Individuals who received standard or caregiver controlled wheelchairs tended to be older, and those who received ultralight or caregiver controlled wheelchairs had a higher proportion of Hispanics than the overall cohort. Veterans who received any type of wheelchair had lower motor, cognitive, and total functioning scores than the cohort as a whole. Veterans who received canes had the highest functioning. Veteran patients who received patient lifts and beds had lower cognitive scores compared to the overall cohort. Conclusion Functional status can provide some objectivity to the largely subjective assistive device provision decision-making process; however, many other factors must be considered simultaneously, complicating efforts to standardize provision. Corresponding Author: Sandra L Winkler, PhD, OTR/L, Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (CINDRR), James A Haley VA Hospital, 8900 Grand Oak Circle (151R), Tampa, FL 33637-1200 Conflicts of Interest: None declared Source of Funding: Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Award # B7168R The contents of this publication do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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