This study aimed to explore the quality and stability of post-acute care for patients with stroke, including their functional outcomes, mental health and medical care in Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this retrospective case–control study—based on propensity score matching—we assessed 11 patients admitted during the pandemic period (in 2021) and 11 patients admitted during the non-pandemic period (in 2020). Functional outcomes, including the scores of the modified Rankin Scale, Barthel Index, EuroQoL-5 Dimension, Lawton–Brody instrumental activities of daily living, Berg Balance Scale, 5-metre walking speed and 6-min walking distance, were determined. Data on the length of acute care, length of post-acute care, destination after discharge and 14-days readmission were used to evaluate the quality of medical care. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare functional performance before and after rehabilitation. The pandemic group showed no significant improvement in the scores of EuroQoL-5 Dimension, a self-reported health status assessment ( p = 0.13), with the anxiety or depression dimension showing a negative effect (r = 0.21). Post-acute care programmes can efficiently improve the functional performance of patients with stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Mental health should therefore be simultaneously maintained while rehabilitating physical function.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Anxiety, Depression, mental health, stroke, rehabilitation, Functional outcome, post-acute care, 【초록키워드】 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic, discharge, activity, outcomes, Health, stability, Patient, Health status, scale, Taiwan, Care, readmission, retrospective, balance, Barthel Index, daily living, dimension, physical, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, walking distance, IMPROVE, was used, evaluate, functional, were used, 【제목키워드】 Increased,