Gait disturbance due to motor paralysis affects activities of daily living and\nquality of life in patients with stroke. Thus, commencing walking training\nfrom the acute phase of recovery is essential. This study aimed to clarify the\nfactors affecting the walking ability of hemiplegic stroke patients. Eighty hospitalized\npatients with a first chemic or hemorrhagic stroke within 1 year but\nnot less than 1 month after stroke onset were included in this study. The dependent\nvariable was walking ability (Functional Independence Measure\n[FIM] locomotion score), and the independent variables were spirituality\n(Spirituality Rating Scale-A [SRS-A]), amount of social support (Japanese version\nof the Abbreviated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support,\nfrequency of family visit), stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke\nScale [NIHSS]), degree of motor paralysis (lower extremity Brunnstrom\nstage), the lower limb loading force of the affected and unaffected side, and\nage. Spearmanââ?¬â?¢s rank correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis\nwere performed. Multiple regression analysis showed that FIM locomotion\nscore was associated with NIHSS (standard partial regression coefficient =\nâË?â??0.362, P < 0.001), the unaffected lower limb loading force (standard partial\nregression coefficient = 0.264, P < 0.001), lower extremity Brunnstrom stage\n(standard partial regression coefficient = 0.352, P < 0.001), and SRS-A (standard\npartial regression coefficient = 0.184, P < 0.011). From our findings,\nwalking ability was affected by stroke severity and the degree of paralysis, the\nunaffected lower limb loading force, and the spirituality level in patients with\nstroke. Promoting walking ability in patients with stroke includes training the\nunaffected lower limb and heightening spirituality. Training of the unaffected\nlower limb should be performed at the bedside or on the bed by the patient or\na bedside nurse. To heighten spirituality, nurses who care for patients with\nstroke are encouraged to practice active listening and to show sympathy as\npart of emotional support and spiritual care.
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