Many factors contribute to a successful rehabilitation outcome, including medical, technological, psychological, and environmental variables. The current study was an attempt to assess the role played by the psychological and environmental variables in rehabilitation outcome. Among the possible psychological factors that patients bring to the rehabilitation process are personality traits, self-motivation, and mental health functioning such as depression. Some of the environmental factors include the way in which patients perceive the atmosphere of the rehabilitation hospital in terms of support and expectations and the support of the patients' family after discharge from the hospital. The role each of these factors plays in rehabilitation outcome was investigated. A sample of 60 patients who had been admitted to a rehabilitation hospital following a stroke or orthopedic procedure completed psychological and environmental measures at admission, discharge, and three month followup. In addition, the participants' level of functional independence was assessed by hospital staff at each of these times. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the impact of the psychological and environmental variables on rehabilitation outcome. Measures of rehabilitation outcome included where patients were discharged, their level of functional independence at discharge and followup, and the change in their levels of functional independence from admission to discharge. Results supported the idea that psychological variables play a role in rehabilitation outcome. Those participants who were discharged home tended to have higher motivation scores at admission than those who were discharged to a nursing home. In addition, life satisfaction and depression scores were significant factors in predicting participants' level of functional independence at discharge. Results of the analyses of the personality and environmental variables were not significant. The results of the study suggest that one's level of self-motivation upon admission to a rehabilitation hospital may influence whether he or she is discharged home or to a skilled nursing facility. The relation between motivation and discharge location is not entirely clear, thus more research is required. Future researchers may wish to investigate the perception of patients' motivation by the hospital staff to determine whether this perception plays a role in discharge planning. Others may focus on whether interventions to increase patients' motivation can produce more positive rehabilitation outcomes. In any case, research on the role of self-motivation in rehabilitation appears to be a worthwhile endeavor.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-6915 |
| Date | 01 January 1996 |
| Creators | Caron, Mark Dennis |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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