Effects of occupational therapy in addition to standard rehabilitation program on activities of daily living, quality of life and psychological symptoms of the hemiplegic patients

The aim of this single-blind randomized propective study is to find out whether including occupational therapy in addition to standard rehabilitation program have an effect on activities of daily living, quality of life and psychological symptoms of the hemiplegic patients. Materials and Methods: 35 hemiplegia patients with a disease duration of 6-24 months were included in study. The patients were randomized into two groups. A standard rehabilitation program plus occupational therapy was applied to the first group for 8 weeks. The patients were evaluated with performance assessment of self care skills (PASS), hand and finger muscle strengths, Nottingham Extended Activities of daily living scale, SF-36, Functional independence measure(FIM), purdue peg board test and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) before and after 8 weeks of therapy. Results: In our study we have found statistically significant improvement in PASS, hand and finger muscle strengths, NEADL, purdue peg board test and FIM among each group(p<0.05). There were no significant changes in Functional independence measure(FIM)/cognitive and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(p>0.05). In comparisons between groups, occupational therapy group had significantly better scores in PASS/instrumental ADL-physical emphasis subscale, FIM/motor and purdue peg board test (p<0.05). Conclusion: We have found out that occupational therapy combined with standard rehabilitation programs may have useful effects on some parts of activities of daily living, hand functions and functional independency. On the other hand, occupational therapy wasn't effective on quality of life, psychological and cognitive state.