Testing the effectiveness of knowledge and behavior therapy in patients of hemiplegic stroke

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine demographic variables associated with anger and well-being in patients with stroke, to investigate the hypothesis that knowledge and behavior (K&B) therapy improves patients' emotional and physical well-being, and to discover psychological variables associated with therapeutic outcomes.

Methods: Seventy-seven patients with hemiplegic stroke were randomly assigned to either a control condition (the conventional therapy) or an experimental condition (K&B therapy). Both the experimental and control groups received physical therapy, which included prescribed medications and rehabilitation training programs for body functions. In addition, the experimental group received counseling, which consisted of a knowledge component and a behavioral training component.

Results: Patients' gender and ratings of stressful events were related to emotional health and well-being. Compared to the control group, the experimental group generally reported greater improvements in state anger, external anger, anger control, depression, quality of life, and activities of daily living.

Conclusions: Consistent with our expectations, patients with stroke who received K&B training showed greater improvements in mental and physical health. Our findings suggest that the K&B therapy effectively targeted anger and improved the well-being among patients with stroke. It is our recommendation that K&B therapy should be implemented with a hospital's standard procedure for stroke recovery.