PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the post-stroke care program within the community setting in Thailand. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was a nonequivalent control group pre-test and post-test design. A total of 62 pairs of post-stroke patients and their family caregivers were recruited to the study (31 pairs per group). The intervention consisted of a four-week program that included distributing pertinent information, providing skill practice during post-stroke care sessions and utilizing strategies to enhance motivation and behavioral skills of family caregivers based on the information-motivation-behavioral skills model. The family caregivers' post-stroke care skills were evaluated. The patients' activities of daily living (ADLs) and complications were evaluated at baseline and immediately and 2-month post-intervention. Statistical analysis included chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, and two-way repeated measures' analysis of variance. RESULTS: After participating in the program, family caregivers in the experimental group significantly improved their post-stroke care knowledge and skills as compared to those in the control group (F = 585.81, p < .001). ADLs among post-stroke patients in the experimental group significantly increased over time and were higher than those in the control group (F = 46.01, p < .001). Moreover, complications among patients in the experimental group were less than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The post-stroke care program improved family caregivers' post-stroke care skills which resulted in improved functional status and decreased complications among post-stroke patients.
Activities of Daily Living ; Caregivers* ; Humans ; Motivation ; Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Stroke* ; Survivors* ; Thailand*

Three mesoporous silica excipients (Syloid? silicas AL-1 FP, XDP 3050 and XDP 3150) were formulated with a model drug known for its poor aqueous solubility, namely phenylbutazone, in an attempt to enhance the extent and rate of drug dissolution. Although other forms of mesoporous silica have been investigated in previous studies, the effect of inclusion with these specific Syloid? silica based excipients and more interestingly, with phenylbutazone, is unknown. This work reports a significant enhancement for both the extent and rate of drug release for all three forms of Syloid? silica at a 1:1 drug:silica ratio over a period of 30 min. An explanation for this increase was determined to be conversion to the amorphous form and an enhanced drug loading ability within the pores. Differences between the release profiles of the three silicas were concluded to be a consequence of the physicochemical differences between the three forms. Overall, this study confirms that Syloid? silica based excipients can be used to enhance dissolution, and potentially therefore bioavailability, for compounds with poor aqueous solubility such as phenylbutazone. In addition, it has been confirmed that drug release can be carefully tailored based on the choice of Syloid? silica and desired release profile.