ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Stroke
Sec. Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation
This article is part of the Research TopicPerson and Community Centred Approaches to Transitions of CareView all 7 articles
Predictors of Short-Term Functional Recovery in Ischemic Stroke Rehabilitation at Community Hospitals in Singapore
Provisionally accepted
- 1Singhealth Community Hospitals, Singapore, Singapore
- 2SingHealth Regional Health System, Singapore, Singapore
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Abstract Objectives Stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. While functional outcome predictors are well established in acute rehabilitation settings, less is known in community hospitals, which typically manage stroke patients with moderate or isolated impairments. This study aimed to identify predictors of short-term functional improvement in stroke survivors admitted to community hospitals in Singapore. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting and Participants: The study included 216 stroke survivors admitted to Outram and Sengkang Community Hospitals for inpatient rehabilitation. Methods: Functional status was measured using the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) on admission and discharge. Data on depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), resilience (CD-RISC-10), comorbidities, stroke severity (NIHSS), time to rehabilitation initiation, and sociodemographics were collected. Logistic regression identified predictors of significant functional improvement, defined as at least a one-level increase in MBI. Results: Participants' mean age was 71.20 years; most were male (59.30%), Chinese (82.00%), unemployed (58.80%), and living with family (86.50%). Functional improvement was more likely among those who were premorbidly independent (65.70%), had mild depressive symptoms (PHQ-2 ≤ 2; 63.70%), 3 | P a g e experienced mild strokes (NIHSS≤4; 43.10%), or started rehabilitation within one day of onset (33.80%). Older age (p = 0.02) and shorter time to rehabilitation (p = 0.03) independently predicted functional improvement. Conclusion and Implications: Older age and early rehabilitation were significantly associated with greater short-term functional gains in community hospital stroke survivors, underscoring the importance of timely rehabilitation to optimize recovery after stroke, even for older adults.
Keywords: Community hospitals, Early Rehabilitation, functional recovery, predictors of outcomeafter stroke, Stroke rehabilitation and recovery
Received: 13 Sep 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lai, Tan, Ong, Wong and Low. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wei Na Lai, jassey_0101@hotmail.com
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