The impact of a toolkit on use of standardised measurement tools in stroke rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a toolkit of psychometrically robust measurement tools, the Greater Manchester Assessment for Stroke Rehabilitation (G-MASTER) toolkit, on the use of measurement tools during stroke rehabilitation DESIGN: Mixed methods cohort design using non-participant observation of multi-disciplinary team meetings and semi-structured interviews with members of the team over three months before and three months after implementation of the assessment toolkit. Development and implementation of the toolkit are also described. SETTING: Ten in-patient stroke services in a large UK city. SUBJECTS: Members of the participating multi-disciplinary stroke teams. RESULTS: Before implementation standardised measures were seldom used in team meetings. After implementation, use of all measurement tools significantly increased (36% to 81% of occasions, P<0.000). Staff were generally positive about the toolkit and felt it enabled more accurate problem identification, effective progress monitoring, timely decision-making, communication and promoted inter-team relationships. CONCLUSIONS: A toolkit of standardised measurement tools can be feasibly and acceptably implemented into stroke rehabilitation. It increases the use of measurement tools by the multi-disciplinary team and improves the processes and quality of care.