Boter 2004

Methods	RCT
Participants	Recruited from 12 hospitals in The Netherlands Inclusion criteria: Dutch speaking, ≥ 18 years of age, first admission for a stroke, hospitalisation within 72 hours after onset of symptoms, life expectancy > 1 year, independent from or partially dependent on discharge (Rankin grade 0 to 3), discharged home, residence within 40 kilometres of catchment areas served by hospitals Exclusion criteria: failure to meet above criteria Age, years: intervention group median (IQR) = 66 (52 to 76), control group median (IQR) = 63 (51 to 74) Gender: intervention group 49% male, control group 48% male Time poststroke: not reported
Interventions	Telerehabilitation intervention: 3 nurses initiated telephone contacts (1 to 4; 4 to 8; and 18 to 24 weeks after discharge) and visits to participants in their homes (10 to 14 weeks after discharge). Stroke nurses used a standardised checklist of risk factors for stroke, consequences of stroke and unmet needs for services. Nurses supported participants and caregivers according to their individual needs (e.g. by providing information or reassurance) or advised participants to contact their GP when further follow‐up was required. Written educational material was provided and discussed. Nurses aimed to support participants and caregivers in solving problems themselves or coping with them rather than solving problems for them Control intervention: standard care
Outcomes	Timing of outcome assessment: baseline and post‐intervention (6 months after discharge) Measures: Barthel Index, Rankin Grade, Satisfaction with Stroke Care questionnaire, SF‐36, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, health service utilisation (GP), readmissions, therapy, activities of daily living care, rehabilitation, aids, secondary prevention drugs, caregiver questionnaires
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Computerised programme
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Central telephone service used
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Outcome assessor was blinded to allocation
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	Additional data collected at 6 months and not reported in the paper
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No protocol available
Other bias	Unclear risk	Unable to identify further bias