Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences
Article Title
Effect of Graded Repetitive Arm Supplementary Programme (GRASP) on Upper Limb Function among Stroke patients
Abstract
Introduction: Stroke is the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. More than 70 % of individuals who have a stroke experience upper limb deficits that impact daily activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of GRASP on upper limb function among patients with stroke. Methods: It was a quasi-intervention pretest-posttest control group design. The sample consisted of 61 patients with stroke, 31 in the intervention and 30 in the control group attending the outpatient Department of Neurology, Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The upper limb function of patients was determined by CAHAI- 8 (The Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory – 8) and ARAT (The Action Research Arm Test). The researcher taught and demonstrated GRASP to the patients in the intervention group whereas patients in the control group were given only the routine treatment. During the next follow up (4 weeks after intervention), the effect of GRASP on upper limb function was assessed using the same tool and compared with that of the control group. Result: The mean difference in the pre-test- post-test score of CAHAI- 8 was 11.29±3.4 for the intervention group whereas it was only 5.93±3.3 for the control group (p < .05). The mean difference in the pretest- posttest score of ARAT was 12.58±3.0 for the intervention group whereas it was only 6.86±1.9 for the control group (p< .01). Conclusion: The result showed that GRASP improved the upper limb function of patients with stroke in subacute phase and the nurses who work in these areas should incorporate it as a nursing intervention