Barriers affecting effective stroke rehabilitation in kerala

Introduction Stroke is a major life changing health condition caused due to interruption of blood supply to the brain. The rehabilitation of stroke subjects is vast and time consuming and physiotherapy is the integral part of it. Although physiotherapy treatment plays a vital role in rehabilitation of stroke survivors, the number of people receiving regular physiotherapy service is much lesser than expected. Objective This study was conducted to identify the barriers for effective rehabilitation of stroke subjects in Kerala. Method 300 stroke survivors from different parts of Kerala were recruited and were asked to fill out a customized questionnaire to identify the barriers in physiotherapy rehabilitation. The different barriers included were Economic, Geographical, Socio-cultural and Facility barriers. Result Out of the four main barriers presented, it was found that the most common barrier was Facility barrier. Socio-cultural barrier was found to be the second most faced barrier followed by financial and geographical barriers. Conclusion The study concluded lack of easily available rehabilitation centers and lack of efficient communication between stroke survivors and rehabilitation professionals to be the major barriers in effective rehabilitation of the subjects.