Highlights
- •Many barriers exist in the houses of stroke survivors in the rural areas of China.
- •The home physical barriers are closely related to social isolation.
- •Eliminating or decreasing home barriers could be a feasible and effective approach to improving social integration.
Abstract
Objective
To describe the home barriers and social isolation of stroke survivors in the rural
areas of China and to explore which home barriers are associated with social isolation.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Structured interviews and observation in the participants' homes.
Participants
Community-dwelling stroke survivors in the rural areas of China (N=818).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Physical barriers in rural homes were surveyed using a home fall hazards assessment.
Social isolation was identified if ≥2 of the following indicators were observed: low
frequency of getting out of the home, lacking leisure activities, and living alone
in the previous 3 months.
Results
The prevalence rates of 18 among 30 home barriers were >20%, and the highest was 93%
(lack of handrails in the bathroom). The prevalence of social isolation was 30%. Three
home barriers were independently related to social isolation. These were a distant
toilet (odds ratio [OR], 2.363; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.527–3.658; P<.001), unsuitable seating (OR, 1.571; 95% CI, 1.026–2.404; P=.038), and inaccessible light switches (OR, 1.572; 95% CI, 1.064–2.324; P=.023).
Conclusions
Many barriers exist in the houses of stroke survivors in rural China. Some of them
are related to social isolation. Eliminating or decreasing home barriers could be
a feasible and effective approach to reducing social isolation.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CI (confidence interval), OR (odds ratio)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 30, 2016
Footnotes
Supported by the Qixing Charity Fund for Stroke and Rehabilitation of the Guangdong Branch of the Red Cross Society of China (grant no. 20131217), the China Medical Board (grant no. 04-808), and Science and Technology Plan Projects of Guangdong Province (grant no. 2013B09100009).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
