Group physiotherapy improves time use by patients with stroke in rehabilitation

Does feedback about the time use of patients with stroke influence the organisation of services in rehabilitation? An observation was made of the time use by 22 patients with stroke in a specialised rehabilitation unit, feedback was given to the staff, and another observation on 16 patients was made one year later. As a result of the first observation, the physiotherapy staff were urged to organise group sessions for patients with similar levels of disability, allowing practice with a higher patient to staff ratio. During the second observation, patients spent significantly more time on therapy (8%) and with their peers (25%). These results indicate that feedback about patients' time use can substantially influence management and consequently patients' behaviour in rehabilitation.