Nottingham 1996

Methods	Randomised controlled trials; parallel group design. Randomisation and allocation concealment (sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes), randomisation generated from random number tables. Blinded outcome assessor.
Participants	UK 30 patients. Mean age: 68 yrs. 53% male. Barthel Index score at baseline: not collected Definition of stroke: unclear. Patients recruited at discharge from inpatient facility. Exclusion criteria: blind; deaf; unable to understand or speak English prior to stroke onset.
Interventions	Domiciliary occupational therapy versus no occupational therapy intervention. Domiciliary occupational therapy over a three month period provided by a senior occupational therapist. Amount of therapy provided at therapist's discretion. Components of intervention: dressing practice on a regular basis; teaching patients and carers specific dressing techniques, energy conservation techniques, advice on clothing adaptation. Relative/carer involvement in therapy programme and between therapy sessions 'homework'. Occupational therapy provided by a qualified occupational therapist.
Outcomes	Outcomes were recorded at 3 and 6 months. Nottingham Stroke Dressing Assessment. Rivermead ADL scale. Nottingham Health Profile.
Notes	Outcome data recorded at three months used in analyses (before cross‐over period). Randomisation and allocation procedure checked with principal investigator.
Risk of bias
Item	Authors' judgement	Description
Allocation concealment?	Yes	A ‐ Adequate