Abstract-Stroke affects many aspects of the lives of stroke survivors and their family caregivers. Supporting long-term recovery and rehabilitation are necessary to help stroke survivors adapt to living with the effects of stroke and to help family members adapt to the caregiving role. During recovery and rehabilitation, many elements of the health care continuum are utilized, including emergency response, acute care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and community and long-term care. With the advent of thrombolytic therapy and the benefits of stroke units, stroke survival and outcomes are improving. As a result, the current emphasis of stroke system improvement is to implement stroke units throughout the developed world. To enhance the patient centeredness of stroke care delivery, an important next phase of stroke system improvement will center on the experiences of stroke survivors and their family caregivers as they move through diverse care environments. The objective of this article was to conduct a scoping review of the literature on stroke transitions to identify the current areas of research emphasis. This article highlights stroke survivors' and family caregivers' experiences with transitions across care environment and some potential strategies to improve those transitions.

This article explores the current literature surrounding transitions into palliative care. Transitions in care have become more frequent and complex in the Canadian healthcare system. Plagued with difficulty, fear and misunderstanding, the transition into palliative care is one of the most confusing and traumatic transitions a patient and family can face. Despite this, however, transitions into palliative care have been commonly overlooked in transitional research. A scoping review of the existing literature on transitions and palliative care was conducted and three key areas complicating the transition into palliative care were noted: the intrinsic nature of the transitions, the timing of the transition, and the lack of information surrounding this transition. This article highlights a need for further research into the complicated area of transitions into palliative care.

When offering weekend passes, stroke care systems should carefully consider patients' and caregivers' readiness, emotional state, and preparation for weekend passes. The weekend pass experience can inform in-patient therapy, provide patients and caregivers with insight into life after stroke, and help prepare patients and families for the ultimate transition home.