Grant: Catalyst Grant: Personalized Health Catalyst Grants

Stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked. Many patients die after a stroke. Survivors may live with disabilities. They may have difficulty doing simple things like bathing or cooking and may no longer be able to live in their home. Knowing the risk of being disabled is very important to patients, but doctors have difficulty predicting who will be disabled and by how much. Because every patient is different, the goal of our project is to find a tool to help doctors and health policy decision-makers calculate each patient's risk of dying or being disabled after a stroke. Recovery after stroke takes time. After leaving the hospital, patients often need to go to a rehabilitation centre. Some patients need to temporarily live somewhere where extra help is available. We will measure disability by calculating the number of days a patient spends in their own home in the first 90 days after a stroke. Not many researchers have studied this number. We want to study it because going back home is important to patients. Understanding the risks of dying or disability helps patients. In the hospital, doctors can help patients and their family members understand how much the stroke will affect them after leaving the hospital. From the health system's point of view, being able to tell who is at risk of dying or being disabled is important for finding out if the treatments doctors give are helping patients. We can compare groups of patients to see if all patients are being helped: women, different ethnic backgrounds, immigrants, and very old or very young patients. We can also make report cards comparing different hospitals or provinces. The results of our study will help make stroke care more personalised to each patient's needs so that each patient receive the best care, regardless of who they are or where they are in Canada.