Forster 1996.

Study characteristics
Methods	Study design: parallel design Number of arms: 2 Treatment arm: specialist nurse intervention Control arm: usual care
Participants	Geographical location: UK Setting: outpatient Stroke criteria: all subtypes excluding cerebral haemorrhage Method of diagnosis: via clinical signs and CT (% not reported) Time since stroke: not reported Inclusion criteria: 1) over 60 years; 2) disability related to stroke Exclusion criteria: 1) multi‐infarction dementia; 2) concurrent medical condition associated with a poor prognosis; 3) lived in residential care Total number randomised in this study: 240 Number randomised to treatment group: 120 (55% men, median age 73 years, range 60 to 94 years) Number randomised to control group: 120 (51% men, median age 73 years, range 60 to 90 years) Total number included in final analysis: 208 Number included in treatment group for final analysis: 103 Number included in control group for final analysis: 105
Interventions	Treatment: specialist nurse intervention; included a counselling and enabling model, specialised in problem solving, goal setting, advice on specific issues plus information booklets Treatment duration: treatment continued for a minimum 6 visits over the first 6 months (average of 8 visits over first 6 months) Administed by: specialist G‐grade nurses experienced in assessing disability in elderly and in problem solving approaches Supervision: not reported Intervention fidelity: not reported Control: usual care, no visits Follow‐up: not reported
Outcomes	Primary outcomes Depression measured using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) Secondary outcomes Physical function measured using the NHP, Disability measured using the BI Activities of daily living measured using the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) Death
Notes	‐
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Quote: "An assistant in our department who was otherwise unconnected with the study randomized the patients by 4 length random permuted blocks of 6 to the control group or the intervention group (the patients receiving visits by the specialist nurses)." pp. 1642 Comments: method of sequence generation not reported
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Comments: method of allocation not reported
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Comments: blinding of participants and personnel not reported
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Comments: blinding of outcome assessment not reported
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	Comments: per protocol analysis reported only. 33/240 participants not included in the analysis
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Comments: no trial protocol available to compare with the publication
Other bias	Low risk	Comments: there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment and control group in baseline demographic characteristics