Strengthening Community-Based Stroke Care: A Feasibility Study of a Community Navigation and Rehabilitation Intervention that Includes a Mobile Health Solution. My Stroke Team (MyST)

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, potential effectiveness, and implementation of a new web-based mobile application, My Stroke Team (MyST), to support hospital-based community outreach management and prevention for older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC).

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) partnered with the Aging Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU) on the six month intervention with staggered enrolment. The study continued for approximately 12 months to obtain a sample of 30 patients who are older than 55, who have two other chronic conditions and are recovering from a stroke. A dedicated inter-professional team (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech language pathology, social work, and registered nurse) provided stroke rehabilitation services, vascular disease prevention and management through regular in-home visits to participants for six months.

The overall goal of the mobile technology (MyST) was to support:

• Patient and family-centred care
• Collaborative practice through real-time communication and decision-making among hospital, clients, and family caregivers to enhance community reintegration
• A proactive comprehensive approach to care that focuses on health promotion and disease prevention
• The use of best practices for hospital and community-based management of vascular disease and MCC
• Linkage and referral to home and community-based services
• Empowerment of clients to take a lead role in the self-management of their health, stroke recovery prevention and management as well as other chronic conditions through the use of strength-based practice.

MyST was developed with support from the MOHLTC Health System Research Fund, click here to link to ACHRU Study 4