Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40976671›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Contemporary, postpandemic description of UK occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice to rehabilitate the upper limb after stroke: the SUPPLES 2 online survey.

Kathryn A Jarvis, Louise Connell, Rosemary Peel, Rachel C Stockley

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Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kathryn A JarvisStroke Research Team, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK kjarvis1@uclan.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5963-7346
Louise ConnellLancaster Medical School, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0629-2919
Rosemary PeelUniversity Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Kendal, Cumbria, UK.
Rachel C StockleyStroke Research Team, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4441-6860

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo provide a contemporary, postpandemic description of UK occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice to rehabilitate the upper limb after stroke.

settingA national online survey, first undertaken in 2018 (prepandemic), was readministered to describe postpandemic practice.

participantsThe survey was distributed to UK-based occupational therapists and physiotherapists working with people after stroke, via professional and social networks. PRIMARY MEASURES: Shaped by the Template for Intervention Description and Replication Checklist, the survey collected and subsequently analysed the content, frequency and duration of upper limb rehabilitation after stroke.

resultsA total of 122 occupational therapists (n=42) and physiotherapists (n=80) currently working clinically, across in-patient, out-patient and community settings, in the UK completed the survey. Respondents reported treating the upper limb a median of three times a week (IQR 2-4; range 0-6) for a median of 25 min (IQR: 20-35; range 3-60; n=119). Repetitive, functionally-based activities were the most commonly reported interventions for mild (n=93; 81%) and moderate (n=72; 64%) impairment. Stretching (n=73; 66%) and positioning (n=49; 45%) were most frequently reported for severe impairment. In each of the three impairment categories, a larger number of interventions were reported than in the 2018 survey.

conclusionsWhile the pandemic promoted the use of virtual interventions, most therapists had returned to face-to-face interventions. The findings highlight that the current reported provision of upper limb therapy continues to be markedly less than the dose shown to be effective. The study provides important data which can be used to judge the success of attempts to align practice with new guidelines and inform 'usual therapy' for the upper limb after stroke in comparative studies.

Indexed as

Occupational TherapyPhysical Therapy ModalitiesStroke RehabilitationUpper ExtremityCOVID-19FemaleHumansMalePandemicsSARS-CoV-2StrokeSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited KingdomREHABILITATION MEDICINEStrokeSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID40976671
PMCPMC12458861

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.