Community-based stroke information for clients with stroke and their carers: Is there congruency between actual and recommended practice?

Purpose: Information provision is an integral part of poststroke care, and there is a need to identify how to provide it most effectively. Intervention details such as content, delivery style, format, and timing, are infrequently reported in the literature. This project describes in detail the provision of information to clients with stroke and their carers by community services in Brisbane, Australia, and compares these to current recommendations in the literature. Method: Fifty-seven metropolitan-based community services were surveyed regarding the content, delivery style, format, and timing of information available to clients with stroke and their carers, using a telephone-administered questionnaire designed for this study. Results: Services provided information using a range of formats and delivery styles. The most frequently provided topics were information on services and benefits available and practical management strategies. Less than 75% of services provided written information to most of their clients and/or carers. Less than 40% of services considered client and carer input when designing written information materials. Conclusion: Community services surveyed in this study demonstrated congruency with some, but not all, of the current content, format, and delivery style recommendations in the literature. Areas for improvement are discussed.