Article

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of stroke on
health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and disability, the relationships between
the two constructs, and to what extent these two constructs are affected when
perceived health state changes. DESIGN : The World Health Organization Disability
Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
were administered via mail to a sample of adult stroke survivors. Comparison
against normative Italian values was made using one-sample t test. SF-36 and
WHO-DAS II scores were compared between employed and unemployed patients and
between patients self-reporting improved, unchanged, and decreased health state
using analysis of variance with least significant difference post hoc test. The
relationships between SF-36 and WHO-DAS II were assessed using Pearson
correlation. RESULTS: A total of 111 patients were enrolled. The SF-36 and
WHO-DAS II scores of stroke patients were worse in comparison with Italian
normative values. Moderate to strong correlations between all scales and the
summary score of WHO-DAS II and SF-36 were found: The worse the disability is,
the lower the HRQoL. Patients reporting worse health status in the previous year
reported higher levels of disability and lower HRQoL. Employed persons had higher
HRQoL and lower disability levels. CONCLUSIONS: The generic HRQoL instrument and
disability schedule used in this study demonstrated strong relationship between
these two dimensions. It also gave a more detailed picture of the aspects of
disability and HRQoL that are most relevant for the persons after stroke and that
should be studied further in the future research.

Langue : ANGLAIS