A King's College London study aimed to identify trajectories of disability relating to activities of daily living among people living with advanced lung disease. Two-hundred and one people took part and completed questionnaires about their symptoms, mobility and daily activities each month for up to six months.
The research team, part of the ARC's palliative and end of life care theme found four distinct patterns of disability over time: increasing, decreasing, fluctuating, or stable. A new limitation in outdoor mobility helped predict increasing disability in daily activities over the following months. The loss of mobility may therefore be a useful indicator to prompt referral to rehabilitation services and prevent deterioration.
Several Stroke Research Group staff shared work produced through the NIHR Stroke Programme Grant and related projects at the UK Stroke Forum, Birmingham (4-6 December). Contributions included: invited talks on health inequalities in stroke and on longer term unmet needs of stroke survivors; and posters on trends in stroke incidence, post-stroke depression, a developing patient data portal, informal care costs, use of home-based care, inequalities in stroke care and outcomes, and sex differences in the utilization of intravenous thrombolysis and outcomes. The UK Stroke Forum is the UK's largest multidisciplinary conference for stroke care professionals.