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Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability in older adults. Effective rehabilitation, particularly through self-management strategies, is essential to support recovery. The randomised controlled trial ‘Stroke − 65 plus. Continued Active Life’ previously investigated a self-management intervention on self-efficacy among stroke survivors. This substudy examines the secondary outcome: accelerometer-measured physical behaviour. Methods: The trial compared a novel self-management intervention to usual care for stroke patients aged ≥65 years residing in Aarhus Municipality. Participants were recruited from hospital wards and municipal care centres. The intervention aimed to enhance self-efficacy, quality of life, and participation, supplementing tailored municipal rehabilitation. Physical behaviour was assessed using accelerometers worn on the non-affected leg for seven consecutive days. An in-house algorithm classified behaviour types, and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a linear mixed model. Results: At both 3- and 9-month follow-ups, participants in both groups showed increased daily activity compared to baseline, particularly in standing time. No notable changes were observed in more intensive behaviours such as cycling or running. No significant between-group differences were found in any measured behaviours. Conclusion: While physical activity levels increased over time in both groups, the self-management intervention did not demonstrate superior effects compared to usual care based on accelerometer data. These findings align with the primary outcome of the main study, suggesting that the intervention did not yield additional benefits in physical activity behaviour.
Skovbjerg et al. (Sat,) studied this question.