Pilot assessment of a comfort scale in stroke patients.

BACKGROUND

Comfort/discomfort (C/D) is an important factor of quality of life (QoL). Brain damage is a major source of discomfort. We developed a questionnaire for assessing C/D in daily living situations and for identifying the main causes of any discomfort and presented its pilot assessment in a population of stroke patients.

METHODS

The scale is a questionnaire of the patient or caregiver that addresses (i) comfort/discomfort in 15 situations of daily living (including getting dressed, washing, lying in bed and sitting in a chair) and (ii) the roles of physical difficulties, psychological problems and a poorly adapted environment. We analysed its metrological qualities in a group of 62 stroke patients.

RESULTS

For the patients, the most uncomfortable activities were eating, dressing the lower body, urine and faeces elimination and walking, and the most significant factors of discomfort were motor impairments, fatigue, limb stiffness, joint pain, depression and anxiety. The reliability was fair for the overall score and for each C/D item and moderate for the impact of impairments on comfort/discomfort. We also found fair internal consistency and convergent validity against measures of functional status, QoL and burden of care. Sensitivity to change over a 6-week period was modest.

CONCLUSIONS

The scale can help to define difficulties in daily living situations and identify opportunities for intervention in stroke patients.