Factors affecting length of hospital stay in stroke survivors in South Africa: A call for a stroke unit

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Factors affecting length of hospital stay in stroke survivors in South Africa: A call for a stroke unit
 
Creator Pillay, Stephanie C. Redant, Roxann Umuneza, Nadia Hoosen, Azra Breytenbach, Fiona Haffejee, Sameera Matsena-Zingoni, Zvifadzo Sekome, Kganetso
 
Subject Stroke Rehabilitation; Speech Therapy; Physiotherapy; Occupational Therapy, Acute Stroke Care stroke; rehabilitation; length of stay; stroke unit; South Africa.
Description Background: Stroke in Africa is a growing and neglected crisis with the incidence more than doubling in low- to middle-income countries in the last four decades. Despite this growing threat, implementation of stroke models of care in hospitals is lacking. Stroke units as a model of care have been shown to decrease mortality, reduce length of hospital stay (LOS) and improve outcomes in stroke survivors.Objectives: To determine the profile of stroke survivors and identify factors contributing to LOS at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in South Africa to support stroke unit implementation.Method: This study involved a retrospective record review of stroke survivors admitted to CHBAH between September 2018 and May 2019. Factors associated with LOS were determined using linear regression models; univariate and multiple regression models were fitted.Results: A total of 567 participants’ data were included. Overall, 51.85% of the participants required services from all rehabilitation disciplines. The median LOS was 9 days (interquartile ranges [IQR]: 5–11 days) with each discipline providing an average of six sessions. Participants who were referred to the rehabilitation team 3 days after admission to hospital stayed 6 days longer compared with those participants who were referred earlier (p 0.001).Conclusion: Delayed referral to the rehabilitation team resulted in increased LOS. This study supports the need for dedicated stroke units to decrease hospital LOS and improve patients’ outcomes by ensuring early, well-coordinated rehabilitation intervention and discharge planning.Contribution: The study highlights the urgency for re-evaluation of stroke care infrastructure within Gauteng to streamline and provide accessible stroke models of care.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2022-12-12
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Retrospective record review
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v11i0.1065
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 11 (2022); 7 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1065/2103 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1065/2104 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1065/2105 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1065/2106
 
Coverage Africa; South Africa; Gauteng — Age; Gender; Stroke demographics; Burden of disease; Length of stay; Stroke rehabilitation; stroke care pathway
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Stephanie C. Pillay, Roxann Redant, Nadia Umuneza, Azra Hoosen, Fiona Breytenbach, Sameera Haffejee, Zvifadzo Matsena-Zingoni, Kganetso Sekome https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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