CDC: Outpatient rehab rates suboptimal for stroke survivors

(HealthDay)—In 2015, 35.5 percent of adult stroke survivors used outpatient rehabilitation, up from 31.2 percent in 2013, according to research published in the May 25 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Carma Ayala, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed 2013 and 2015 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to update estimates of participation in outpatient rehabilitation after hospital discharge for adult stroke survivors.

The researchers found that outpatient rehabilitation use was 31.2 percent overall in 20 states and the District of Columbia in 2013 and 35.5 percent in four states in 2015. There were disparities in rehabilitation use based on sex, race, Hispanic origin, and education level.

"Although estimates of stroke outpatient rehab referral might be high, participation in stroke outpatient rehab remains suboptimal," the authors write. "Barriers to participation in stroke outpatient rehab are evident, but focused attention on system-level interventions that ensure participation is needed, especially among populations with lower levels of participation."