Advantages and limitations of generic tools for evaluating the quality of life in patients with spastic hemiparesis

Abstract

Quality of life is an increasingly important matter to relate to in modern societies due to deeper concern in the economic area as well as in the evaluation of the eficiency of the medical services not only on health, but on all aspects of patient’s life. Assessment of quality of life after stroke, as a major disability starter, is the first step in the challenge to improve the quality of stroke survivors.
This review is the first step in a larger study that aims to assess the benefits of the rehabilitation program in patients with spastic hemiparesis in terms of quality of life as a final point of interest in clinical and functional therapeutic target. It contains a summary of the most used generic tools for the assessment of quality of life in stroke and aims a short analysis of their advantages and disadvantages.
Conclusions. The perfect, optimal quality of life instrument varies depending on the intended purpose and is based on its different psychometric attributes. These scales are not recommended for monitoring each patient and should not replace existing standardized instruments that examine deficiencies or functional limitations, but they could be implemented by therapists as a means of identifying specific elements that affect quality of life. Using such an instrument as part of a battery of tools will help in identifying and targeting all aspects of health to provide the best results in the management of stroke survivors.

Key words:

stroke, disability, rehabilitation

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