A New At-home Telerehabilitation Care Service Delivery Model for Stroke Survivors in the Rio Grande Valley

A New At-home Telerehabilitation Care Service Delivery Model for Stroke Survivors in the Rio Grande Valley

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of a mobile telerehabilitation software for post-acute stroke care for Rio Grande Valley (RGV) stroke survivors with community health worker (CHW) at-home support and to estimate the functional health, mental health (depression), and caregiver burden outcomes of this new CHW-supported, at-home rehabilitation service delivery model and to identify salient barriers to and facilitators of adopting and delivering the new rehabilitation delivery model to further disseminate the model in real-world communities.

Inclusion Criteria:

• A resident of the Brownsville, Texas (Cameron County) area
• SINGLE and FIRST qualifying stroke event with the ability to enroll and begin study activities within 3 months of onset of stroke event
• Pre-stroke modified Rankin score of ≤3 (less than moderate disability at baseline)
• Currently uninsured
• Spanish or English speaker
• Able to follow instructions (without aphasia that interferes with following instructions)
• Safe to perform basic strengthening rehabilitation exercises
• Able to stand with or without assistance

Exclusion Criteria:

• Aphasia or cognitive impairment (e.g., dementia) that interferes with following instructions or prevents following the study-related activities)
• Pre-stroke motor deficits
• Current psychiatric disorders, including substance use disorder
• Underlying brain pathologies inclusive of brain malignancies, multiple sclerosis
• Insured patients as insured patients are referred for standard-of-care clinical rehabilitation.
• Medical instability to participate in basic strengthening rehabilitation exercises
• Inability to access internet from home to access at-home rehabilitation software for intervention arm participants
• Having received any outpatient rehabilitation services prior to study enrollment for intervention arm participants