Why home environment matters for Post-Stroke Mobility
Post-stroke patients face a critical 6-12 month window where appropriate home environment dramatically affects functional recovery. Mobility limitation, hemiparesis, falls risk, cognitive change, and continence issues all interact with home-environment factors. Bathroom and stair access become rate-limiting factors for discharge home. Cold-home exposure compounds spasticity. Inadequate lighting and contrast worsens already-impaired visual processing. Re-admission within 90 days post-stroke is heavily correlated with home-environment inadequacy.
UK prevalence: Approximately 100,000 people have a stroke each year in the UK, with around 1.3 million stroke survivors. Around two-thirds of stroke survivors leave hospital with disability requiring ongoing support.