Philadelphia (STAIR)

Methods	Randomised controlled trial Randomisation by random number table but allocation concealment unclear
Participants	55 participants were recruited from in‐patient wards within 3 months of stroke onset Exclusion criteria: severe co‐morbidity, cognitive impairment, communication problems, institutional care Inclusion criteria: aged over 65, recent stroke, returning to community, caregiver identified, able to give informed consent
Interventions	Intervention: patients were assigned a case manager who visited monthly and telephoned weekly; they provided access to information, identified psychosocial stresses and provided liaison to community or hospital resources Control: the control group did not receive visits from the case manager or input from the multidisciplinary team
Outcomes	Outcomes were recorded at 12 months by a researcher blinded to treatment allocation Patient outcomes: extended activities of daily living (Frenchay Activities Index, Social Functioning Examination, Older American Resources and Services Scales‐Social Resources (OARS‐SR)), activities of daily living (Functional Independence Measure, OARS‐ADL, OARS‐Physical health, Social Functioning Examination, Frenchay Activities Index); OARS‐Economic resources Carer outcomes: subjective health status (Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS)), mental health (Centre for Epidemiological Studies‐Depression Scale (CESD))
Notes	Carer involvement was necessary for the study Some aggregated data were available in addition to the paper, but not individual patient data
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Allocation concealment?	Unclear risk	B ‐ Unclear