Improving Post-acute Stroke Follow-up Care by Adopting Telecare Consultations in a Nurse-led Clinic

Improving Post-acute Stroke Follow-up Care by Adopting Telecare Consultations in a Nurse-led Clinic During COVID-19 and Beyond: A Hybrid Type 2 Implementation-effectiveness Randomized Trial

Since 2017, Hong Kong has provided post-acute stroke services in clinics operated by stroke advanced practice nurses (APNs). Currently, the applicability of the clinics has been further limited by the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to restrictions on visits to the clinics and tightened social distancing requirements. Telecare consultations may be a viable option for contributing more flexible, interactive, and cost-efficient care models to support stroke survivors over the longer run. The present study takes advantage of this opportunity by utilizing implementation science to simultaneously implement and evaluate a telecare model of care in a nurse-led post-acute stroke clinic.

Inclusion Criteria:

• confirmed diagnosis of stroke within 1 month before enrolment, will be discharged home within a week, aged 18 or above, cognitively competent with a score equal to or greater than 22 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Hong Kong version, own a smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

• have unaccompanied hearing or vision loss, cannot be reached by phone, bedbound, have no Internet connection at home, participating in other clinical trials at the same time, require physical contact, i.e. wound dressing