Stroke rehabilitation is a critical component of stroke recovery, offering significant benefits in terms of promoting recovery, preventing complications, and supporting survivors as they reintegrate into the community. This focus group update have been developed to outline the current evidence-based practices for stroke rehabilitation, both in hospital settings and within the community.
They are intended to serve as a dynamic clinical resource for practitioners, offering tools and frameworks that strengthen clinical decision-making and enhance patient care throughout every stage of recovery. The focus lies in delivering timely, individualized interventions that reflect current best practices across care settings.
Evidence-based algorithms and clinical pathways designed to guide assessment, intervention planning, and progression throughout the continuum of stroke recovery.
Approaches that empower clinicians to collaborate with stroke survivors in establishing personalized, meaningful rehabilitation goals-aligned with the patient’s values, capabilities, and aspirations.
Structured guidance that supports the critical transition from hospital discharge to community-based rehabilitation, helping reduce care fragmentation and ensuring continuity of services.
The organizing committee of the focus group comprises of professionals from a variety of disciplines involved in post-stroke care, as listed below. This multidisciplinary team is crucial to address the complex challenges and issues associated with post-stroke management.
- Prof. Datin Dr. Lydia Abdul Latif; Rehabilitation Physician
- Prof. Dr. Noor Azah Abd Aziz, Family Medicine Specialist
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Asyraf Wan Zaidi; Neurologist
- Dr. Norhayati binti Hussein; Rehabilitation Physician
- Dr. Chung Tze Yang; Rehabilitation Physician
- Dr Nabilah Binti Abdul Rahman; Rehabilitation Physician
- Dr. Nor Shahrina Mohd Zawawi; Senior Speech – Language Therapist
- Dr. Katijjahbe Binti Mohd. Ali; Senior Clinical Physiotherapist
- Puan Wahidatul Abdah; Senior Occupational Therapist
- Ms. Tracy Chan; Physiotherapist
Additionally, four expert panel groups were formed for the aforementioned rehabilitation therapists and physicians. Each group consists of four to five members from the same profession. Efforts were made to include representatives from both academic and clinical backgrounds, encompassing practitioners from the public and private sectors.
The current Malaysian Clinical Practice Guideline acknowledges the importance of rehabilitation, but it lacks detailed information. Therefore, this focus group update is designed to expand on the rehabilitation aspects within the existing document. The goal is to enhance comprehensive stroke care in Malaysia, including long-term care for stroke patients.
In developing this focus group update, we employed an “adopt and adapt” approach. The process began with a review of recent post-stroke care guidelines from various countries, including Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, in accordance with the identified scope. Relevant information was extracted and revised to fit the Malaysian context. Subsequently, an expert panel evaluated the document using the AGREE-II tool
Subsequently, the organizing members engaged in discussions to harmonize the statements of individual guidelines, drawing upon the expert panel’s ratings. The focus group update were then reviewed by the organizing members to reach consensus and finalize them.
The focus group updates were also reviewed by stroke survivors and their caregivers, as their input is crucial for ensuring inclusivity. It is anticipated that a layperson-friendly version will be developed in the future to enhance patient compliance, education, and empowerment. Currently, this effort is being carried out voluntarily by a dedicated group of clinicians.
The focus group updates are expected to be made available electronically in PDF format, with the option for downloading.
This focus group initiative is supported by EP PLUS GROUP and MOLEAC through educational grant.