NZ research is improving stroke patients rehabilitation
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Minister
of Health
Hon Paul
Goldsmith
Minister of Science and
Innovation
22 March 2017
Media
Statement
World leading NZ research is
improving stroke patients
rehabilitation
Health Minister Jonathan
Coleman and Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith
says new internationally-recognised research that aims to
improve rehabilitation of people after they have a stroke is
an important step forward.
“Around 9,000 people
have a stroke each year in New Zealand. Early identification
and treatment is crucial to reduce the likelihood of brain
damage and lasting harm,” says Dr Coleman.
“Of
these, around a third of people who experience significant
disability following stroke could benefit from intensive
inpatient rehabilitation.
“To help support this,
the University of Auckland has created a tool that gives
therapists a way to better predict at an early stage how
well a stroke patient will recover the use of their hands
and arms.
“Even experienced therapists struggle
to predict the degree to which someone will recover use of
their hands or arms post-stroke, but the PREP tool has been
shown to correctly predict the outcome in 80 per cent of
cases.
“Research recently released shows the tool
helps therapists better target their rehabilitation, and see
a patient leaving hospital for home on average, a week
earlier than for patients where the tool was not
used.”
“Through this union of science and
healthcare we hope to make inroads into reducing the toll of
these diseases on people’s lives and in reducing the
burden socially and economically,” says Mr
Goldsmith.
“A study of Auckland stroke patients
using the PREP tool was funded by the Health Research
Council and is a great example of research that is already
translating into changes in care.
“I’m told
researchers have already trained Auckland Hospital
therapists in the use of the tool. They are also training
staff at other New Zealand hospitals, as well as hospitals
in the US and the UK.”
The Government's ongoing
commitment to health research is demonstrated in the Budget
2016 announcement of an extra $97 million over the next four
years for the Health Research Council.
Further
details about this research are available on the Health
Research Council of New Zealand website
www.hrc.govt.nz.