Other Faculty Stroke-related Research
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Joan Wasserman, DrPH, MBA, RN
Assistant Professor
Dr. Wasserman conducts research on cost and health related quality of life (HRQOL) associated with stroke recovery for both stroke survivors and caregivers. She is interested in pursuing cost-effectiveness research on nurse-led interventions for stroke care. Dr. Wasserman is also a co-investigator on a nation-wide longitudinal study that measures costs and HRQOL associated with hemophilia. Her earlier work in hemophilia led to the creation of a hemophilia-specific utility instrument which will be used for decision analytic and cost-utility analyses for alternative hemophilia treatments.
Capturing Costs for Outpatient Rehabilitative Stroke Care
In 2004 Dr. Wasserman received $7,500 from the American Nurses Foundation to conduct a cost study on outpatient rehabilitative services for stroke care. Costs for medications and outpatient services for 59 first-time stroke survivors enrolled in the CAReS study were evaluated. Data from study participants medication logs and service utilization calendars were assigned costs. Medication costs were determined by using Medicare reimbursement rates. Medicaid reimbursement rates and average wholesale price (AWP) were used to estimate costs for medications. Dr. Wasserman plans to use cost data obtained in this study to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses of nurse-led interventions for stroke patients. (See Presentations for results
Measuring Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in Stroke Survivors
Using funds ($7,311) obtained from a UT PARTNERS grant in 2005, Dr. Wasserman measured health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in 33 first-time stroke survivors enrolled in the CAReS study. The time since stroke occurred ranged from one-two years for all study participants. Dr. Wasserman used general and stroke-specific quality of life instruments to measure HRQOL .Physical and psychological perceptions of health were evaluated. Dr. Wasserman plans to expand her research to study HRQOL in caregivers of stroke survivors. (See Presentations for results)
Rebecca
Casarez, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Dr. Rebecca Polzer received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is certified as an advanced practice nurse in psychiatric/mental health nursing. Her primary research interest is spirituality and management of chronic illnesses, particularly diabetes and stroke. In her doctoral work, she developed a conceptual model of how spirituality affects self-management of diabetes in African Americans. She is currently examining the use of spiritual practices in self-management of diabetes, as well as how spirituality is related to life after stroke for stroke survivors and their caregivers. Her clinical background has focused on inpatient and outpatient psychiatric nursing and home health.
Spirituality in Stroke Survivors and Their Caregivers
Survivors of stroke are often left with devastating physical, psychosocial, and cognitive disabilities that affect independence in activities of daily living and decision-making. Caregivers of stroke survivors also experience changes in their life situation after the stroke event, having to cope with the patient’s physical and cognitive impairments, and emotional and behavioral changes. Given these issues faced by stroke patients and their caregivers, it is not surprising that spirituality has been identified as a coping mechanism in dealing with the challenges of living with this illness. The purpose of this study is to explore expressions of spirituality in stroke survivors and their caregivers by doing a qualitative descriptive study involving secondary data analysis on interview data collected during the CAReS research study. In CAReS, stroke survivors and their caregivers were interviewed about their experiences of recovering from stroke every 3 months during the first year after hospital discharge.
