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Background: Caring for patients after a neurovascular incident is common for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). Most neurological readmission studies focus on a small subset of neurovascular incident groups, but advanced practice nurses in primary care attend to a diverse neurovascular population and lack time to adequately search hospital records. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine readmission risk factors after a neurovascular incident to guide APRNs in the primary care setting. Methodology: The study is a retrospective observational study that used a crude single predictor model to determine potential risks for readmission. Results: A total of 876 neurovascular participants were studied. Of these, only 317 experienced at least one hospital readmission, with 703 readmissions within 1 year, indicating some were readmitted more than once. Risks for readmission varied across neurovascular events. The main reasons for readmission were because of neurological, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal complications. Conclusions: Stroke readmission rates are high and require intervention by APRNs. To prevent readmission includes timely follow-up within 30 days and should also include longitudinal follow-up beyond 90 days to prevent hospital readmission. Implications: Future studies are needed to create guidelines for APRNs that implement rehabilitation strategies to decrease hospital readmission for the neurovascular population that focus on interdisciplinary communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To investigate the experiences of ischaemic stroke survivors during the transitional period from the hospital through the first 4 weeks after discharge home. Background: Ischaemic stroke survivors describe the transition from hospital to home as an important time in their recovery and describe various physical and cognitive concerns early within the recovery period. Adequate transitional care interventions should be informed by such experiences. Design: This is a qualitative descriptive study. Method: This study used semistructured telephone interviews and an inductive approach to enable thematic analysis of information from 31 persons experiencing an ischaemic stroke. Results: Five major themes emerged: (a) the shock of a stroke interrupting a normal day; (b) transition to an unfamiliar home; (c) uncertainty; (d) understanding a new sense of self; and (e) adjusting to a new sense of self. All participants articulated a need to cope with uncertainty and adjusting to a new sense of self. Ischaemic stroke survivors who experienced less uncertainty described that return to their prior daily routine, preventing another stroke, depended on a helpful support system including frequent follow‐up and communication with healthcare professionals. Conclusion: All ischaemic stroke survivors are at risk for complications during recovery, regardless of stroke severity. This study found that, even after experiencing minimal physical or cognitive symptoms, ischaemic stroke survivors can have difficulty adjusting to life after discharge. Relevance to clinical practice: Adjusting to life after a stroke during the first 4 weeks after discharge home is an in individualised experience. For the complex psychosocial and physical needs of ischaemic stroke survivors, nurses can play an important role beyond symptom management by fostering a dynamic relationship through individualised transitional care based on ischaemic stroke survivors experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]