Although many advances have been made in stroke prevention and management, stroke continues to be a prevalent and burdensome condition, particularly among older adults 1 . Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and the third leading cause of death in Canada 2,3 . More than 50,000 Canadians experience a stroke each year and more than 300,000 (1% of the population) live with the ongoing effects 4,5 Following a sentinel stroke, there is a 20% chance of having another stroke within two years 6 . The costs of health care associated with stroke are staggering. Canadians spend a total of $3 million days per year in hospital because of the physical disability associated with ABSTRACT: Objective: To compare a specialized interprofessional team approach to community-based stroke rehabilitation with usual home care for stroke survivors using home care services. Methods: Randomized controlled trial of 101 community-living stroke survivors (<18 months post-stroke) using home care services. Subjects were randomized to intervention (n=52) or control (n=49) groups. The intervention was a 12-month specialized, evidence-based rehabilitation strategy involving an interprofessional team. The primary outcome was change in health-related quality of life and functioning (SF-36) from baseline to 12 months. Secondary outcomes were number of strokes during the 12-month follow-up, and changes in community reintegration (RNLI), perceived social support (PRQ85-Part 2), anxiety and depressive symptoms (Kessler-10), cognitive function (SPMSQ), and costs of use of health services from baseline to 12 months. Results: A total of 82 subjects completed the 12-month follow-up. Compared with the usual care group, stroke survivors in the intervention group showed clinically important (although not statistically significant) greater improvements from baseline in mean SF-36 physical functioning score (5.87, 95% CI -3.98 to 15.7; p=0.24) and social functioning score (9.03, CI -7.50 to 25.6; p=0.28). The groups did not differ for any of the secondary effectiveness outcomes. There was a higher total per-person costs of use of health services in the intervention group compared to usual home care although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.76). Conclusions: A 12-month specialized, interprofessional team is a feasible and acceptable approach to community-based stroke rehabilitation that produced greater improvements in quality of life compared to usual home care. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00463229 RÉSUMÉ: Réadaptation interprofessionnelle à domicile suite à un accident vasculaire cérébral. Objectif : Le but de notre étude était de comparer une approche utilisant une équipe interprofessionnelle spécialisée pour la réadaptation communautaire au moyen de services à domicile, suite à un accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC). Méthode: Nous avons effectué un essai contrôlé randomisé chez 101 patients ayant subi un AVC moins de 18 mois auparavant, qui vivaient dans la communauté et utilisaient des services de soins à domicile. Les...

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