Walking, balance, and functional status: Comparison between perceived and actual assessments among ambulating persons post stroke in the community

Introduction : Patients with stroke often perceive difficulty in walking, balance, and function which may hinder their recovery. This study was done to compare perception of patients with their true actual abilities. Materials and Methods: A total of 105 patients with new onset of stroke, attending outpa! tient clinics, participated in this study. Patients were given a self!administered questionnaire measu ring perception of their abilities in walking, balance and functional health status. The actual walking capaci! ty, balance, and functional health status of patients were measured by 10 metres walking test, Tandem Balance Test, and the Barthel index respectively. Result: Most of the patients had good perception towards their walking abilities. Good perception of balance and functional status were found in 68% and 56% of patients respectively. We also observed moderate agreement in walking (k: 0.497, p< 0.001) and balance (k: 0.537, p<0.001), but poor agreement in functional status (k: 0.144, p:0.004). Conclusion: Poor perception of functional status among stroke patients might be related to the aging and deterioration of other co!morbidities leading tnegative outlook in persons post stroke. Fur! ther research need to be undertaken to justify this finding.