Authors: Kumurenzi, A & Bosch, J

Corresponding author’s email:

Anne Kumurenzi

Lecturer-University of Rwanda-College of Medicine & Health Sciences

Department of Physiotherapy

PhD Candidate-McMaster University

keruine1@gmail.com, kumurena@mcmaster.ca

Background & Purpose: Stroke disability has been measured and explored, and many patients are left with a significant disability in Rwanda (Nkusi et al., 2017; Rhoda, Cunningham, Azaria, & Urimubenshi, 2015). However, this information is likely to be underestimated as the included participants were those that were admitted at tertiary hospitals. This lack of the post-stroke disability data at the community level, coupled with the fact that stroke survivors are typically discharged to the care of their families with either inadequate or no rehabilitation, needs to be addressed (Rhoda et al., 2015). It is therefore crucial to assess the prevalence of post-stroke disability, functional outcomes and needs of community stroke survivors.

Relevance: Improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities in the community is one of our goals as physiotherapists, however, Rwanda lacks the evidence-based information to inform community-based interventions of this population that is currently not existing.

Methods: A descriptive mixed method will be used. Stroke survivors will be recruited in selected community settings in Rwanda. A multi-stage and purposive sampling will be used to select the communities and participants. The quantitative data will be collected using the WHODAS questionnaire to gather the prevalence of post-stroke disability and functional outcomes whereas semi-structured interviews guided by the interview guide will be used to collect the qualitative data on the needs of the stroke survivors.

Analysis: The quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using STATA while the qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis.

Conclusion: This study will be the first one to assess the functional disability and needs of community dwelling stroke survivors. It will therefore provide information related to the prevalence of post-stroke disability, functional outcomes and needs of this population.

Implications: The findings of this study will provide baseline information that can inform service provision policy and potentially the development of novel community based interventions for community dwelling stroke survivors that is currently not existing.

Funding source: This survey will be funded by the Center of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and E-Health (CEBE) which also funds rehabilitation research activities.

Ethics approval and dissemination: Approval will be sought from the research ethical committee of the University of Rwanda and permission to conduct the study will be sought from the selected districts in Rwanda. Written informed consent forms will be obtained from all participants prior to participations. The findings of this study will then be reported in peer-reviewed journal articles for the academic audiences and be presented to different stakeholders involved in stroke.

Keywords: Stroke survivors, Functional outcomes & Needs