Predicting home and community walking activity in people with stroke

Abstract

Objective: To determine the ability of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and other commonly used clinical outcome measures to predict home and community walking activity in high-functioning people with stroke.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Outpatient physical therapy clinic.

Participants: Participants (N=32) with chronic stroke (n=19; >6mo poststroke) with self-selected gait speed (GS) faster than .40m/s and age-matched healthy participants (n=13).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Independent variables: 6MWT, self-selected GS, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), lower extremity motor section of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, and Stroke Impact Scale. Dependent variable: average steps taken per day during a 7-day period, measured using an accelerometer.

Results: 6MWT, self-selected GS, and BBS were moderately related to home and community walking activity. The 6MWT was the only predictor of average steps taken per day; it explained 46% of the variance in steps per day.

Conclusions: The 6MWT is a useful outcome measure in higher functioning people with stroke to guide intervention and assess community walking activity.