Exploring dimensions of quality-of-life in survivors of stroke with communication disabilities – a brief report

ABSTRACT

Background

People with communication disabilities post-stroke have poor quality-of-life.

Objectives

We aimed to explore the association of self-reported communication disabilities with different dimensions of quality-of-life between 90 and 180 days post-stroke.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey data were obtained between 90 and 180 days post-stroke from registrants in the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry recruited from three hospitals in Queensland. The usual follow-up survey included the EQ5D-3L. Responses to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and extra questions (e.g. communication disabilities) were also collected. We used χ² statistics to determine differences.

Results

Overall, 244/647 survivors completed the survey. Respondents with communication disabilities (n = 72) more often reported moderate to extreme problems in all EQ5D-3L dimensions, than those without communication disabilities (n = 172): anxiety or depression (74% vs 40%, p < .001), pain or discomfort (58% vs 39%, p = .006), self-care (46% vs 18%, p < .001), usual activities (77% vs 49%, p < .001), and mobility (68% vs 35%, p < .001). Respondents with communication disabilities reported less fatigue (66% vs 89%, p < .001), poorer cognitive skills (thinking) (16% vs 1%, p < .001) and lower social participation (31% vs 6%, p < .001) than those without communication disabilities.

Conclusions

Survivors of stroke with communication disabilities are more negatively impacted across different dimensions of quality-of-life (as reported between 90 and 180 days post-stroke) compared to those without communication disabilities. This highlights the need for timely and on-going comprehensive multidisciplinary person-centered support.

KEYWORDS:

• Stroke
• anxiety
• depression
• quality-of-life
• self-report
• communication disorders

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge staff from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health for their assistance with the study.

Data availability statement

Due to ethical and legal restrictions, the dataset from this study cannot be shared. However, aggregated data outputs and coding that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

DAC: Data Custodian for AuSCR. RG, NAL and DAC: members of the AuSCR Steering or Management Committees. DAC: reports receiving restricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Ipsen, Medtronic, and Shire outside the work presented here. The other authors report no other conflicts of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

AuSCR: supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC: 1034415), Monash University, Queensland Health, Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, the Stroke Foundation, Allergan Australia, Ipsen, Boehringer Ingelheim, and consumer donations. TT: supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. NHMRC Research Fellowship support for: NEA (1072053), AGT (1042600), SJW (1175821), NL (1112158) and DAC (1063761).