<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The level of participation is an important factor influencing
rehabilitation outcome. However, few studies have evaluated
rehabilitation participation and its clinical predictors in
patients with
stroke. This study aimed to establish the level of participation in
patients with
stroke undergoing
inpatient rehabilitation, and define the clinical predictors for participation.</p><p><b>
METHODS</b>This was a prospective
observational study of first-
time patients with
stroke admitted to a
rehabilitation centre over a 12-month period. The primary
outcome measure was the level of
rehabilitation participation as measured on the Pittsburgh
Rehabilitation Participation Scale (PRPS). PRPS measurements were made one week after admission and one week before planned discharge from
inpatient rehabilitation. Other
outcome measures evaluated were the National Institute of
Health Stroke Scale,
Functional Independence Measure (FIM),
Elderly Cognitive Assessment
Questionnaire (ECAQ), Centre for
Epidemiologic Studies-
Depression Scale,
Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Lubben
Social Network Scale-Revised, and Multidimensional
Health Questionnaire.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 122
patients with
stroke were studied. The mean PRPS score on admission was relatively high at 4.30 ± 0.90, and this improved to 4.65 ± 0.79 before planned discharge (p < 0.001). On
multivariate analysis, the mean PRPS score on admission was predicted by FIM, EACQ and FSS scores on admission, but not by variables such as age,
gender,
depression,
social support, or
health attitudes and
beliefs.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>
Patients with lower levels of participation were more likely to be functionally dependent, cognitively impaired and have more
fatigue. We suggest that in addition to
cognition,
fatigue should be routinely screened in
patients with
stroke undergoing
rehabilitation.</p>