Values of activities of daily living. A survey of stroke patients and their home therapists.

People's values influence their actions and efforts. Based on the assumption that a patient's values can be a guide to successful rehabilitation, the values of 15 activities of daily living as perceived by stroke patients and their home therapists were studied. Twenty-six stroke patients living at home and their 10 visiting occupational and physical therapists participated in the study. The study results indicated that the relative importance of each activity of daily living perceived by the patient group and by the therapist group was similar. Among the 29 therapist-patient pairs, however, only 1 pair showed significantly similar views regarding the values of these activities to the patient. Patients' age, gender, income level, duration since onset of stroke, impaired body side, and independence level in activities were significantly related to their values of certain activities of daily living. The relative value stroke patients living at home place on each activity of daily living could serve as a guide for sequencing learning steps during activities of daily living training in a hospital or rehabilitation setting. Determining patient rehabilitation goals as influenced by personal values may shorten rehabilitation time, be more cost-effective, and aid in the retention of gains made in the rehabilitation setting.