Investigation of independence in the tasks involving the use of public transportation in patients with subacute stroke

Objective: To clarify the percentage of stroke patients who are independent in performing tasks involved in public transportation use and problems faced while doing so. Design: Single-institution retrospective study. Patients: A total of 237 post-stroke patients utilized public transportation during their hospitalization in subacute rehabilitation wards. Methods: Participants’ actual performance in 14 tasks involving public transportation use was assessed using the Public Transportation Use Assessment Form. For each task, the percentage of participants who could perform the task independently was calculated and identified performance problems were categorized. Results: The task with the lowest percentage of independent participants was “Walking in crowds”, with 146 of 236 (61.9%) participants performing this independently, followed by “Selecting departure time and platform” (149 of 229, 65.1%), and “Getting on and off trains” (162 of 230, 70.4%). Problems faced when “Walking in crowds” included the “Risk of colliding with others” (n = 34), “Stop-ping abruptly” (n = 16), “Lack of attention to surroundings” (n = 14), and “Unable to walk with the flow of people” (n = 11). Conclusion: A significant number of patients could not perform tasks independently and faced various performance problems. These issues should be addressed during rehabilitation to enable patients to use public transportation.