OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a leisure education program on participation in and satisfaction with leisure activities (leisure-related outcomes), and well-being, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (primary outcomes) after stroke. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Home and community. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two people with stroke. INTERVENTION: Experimental participants (n = 33) received the leisure education program at home once a week for 8 to 12 weeks. Control participants (n = 29) were visited at home at a similar frequency. Participants were evaluated before and after the program by a blinded assessor. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change from preintervention to postintervention in: minutes of leisure activity per day, number of leisure activities, the Leisure Satisfaction Scale, the Individualized Leisure Profile, the General Well-Being Schedule (GWBS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Stroke-Adapted Sickness Impact Profile (SA-SIP30). RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in change scores between the groups for satisfaction with leisure with a mean difference of 11.9 points (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.2 to 19.5) and participation in active leisure with a mean difference of 14.0 minutes (95% CI 3.2 to 24.9). There was also a statistically significant difference between groups for improvement in depressive symptoms with a mean difference of -7.2 (95% CI -12.5 to -1.9). Differences between groups were not statistically significant on the SA-SIP30 (0.2; 95% CI -1.3 to 1.8) and GWBS (2.2; 95% CI -5.6 to 10.0). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate the effectiveness of the leisure education program for improving participation in leisure activities, improving satisfaction with leisure and reducing depression in people with stroke.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher