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NCT Number: NCT07590076

Volunteer Facilitated Discharge Assistance and Supports at Home (DASH) for People With Stroke

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a home visit by a trained volunteer can improve stroke recovery after a stroke survivor is discharged home from the hospital. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. After 3 months of being discharged from the hospital, does this additional volunteer support at home improve coping skills for stroke survivors? 2. Does the effects of the volunteer support last over 3 to 6 months after being discharged home?

Researchers will compare between a group who will receive the volunteer support and a group who will not to see if the additional support can improve stroke recovery.

Participants will:

* Either receive volunteer support over an 8-week time period OR receive no additional volunteer support * Continue with their usual care plan and receive educational resources from the research team during the study * Complete online surveys during study enrollment, at 3 months, and at 6 months after hospital discharge

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Key information

Conditions

Stroke Brain Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Cerebrovascular Disorders Nervous System Diseases Stroke Rehabilitation Transitional Care Vascular Diseases

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Bruyère Health Élisabeth-Bruyère Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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About this study

Acute stroke often leads to adult disability in Canada, and about 108,707 Canadians experience a stroke each year. While most people survive stroke (80 percent) and return home, some survivors are left with ongoing challenges that require them to seek help in the community. These challenges can lead to stress for the individual and their caregiver. Research on volunteer-supported home-to-hospital programs has shown positive outcomes. However, despite the growing evidence that supports volunteer engagement in care transitions, we have yet to determine the impact of a complex psychosocial volunteer-delivered care transition intervention for stroke survivors. This study will assess whether a volunteer-delivered transitional care intervention, designed by Bruyère Health Research Institute in partnership with March of Dimes Canada (MODC), for adults discharged home from a stroke rehabilitation unit following an acute stroke can improve coping compared to usual care. MODC will implement the volunteer-support transition program across two Ontario regions for stroke rehabilitation sites. Those allocated to the intervention group will receive an initial visit from the Volunteer Coordinator and then weekly one-on-one visits by a trained volunteer for eight weeks. The volunteer may assist the study participant with instrumental daily living activities and psychosocial and informational support. Those not receiving the intervention will receive educational material at 4- and 8-week time points in addition to their usual care. All study participants will complete validated patient-reported outcome measures at 3- and 6-months post-hospital discharge.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Confirmed diagnosis of stroke
  • Either undergoing or recently completed in-patient rehabilitation within the last 3 weeks
  • Lived at home pre-stroke
  • Discharged directly home (to own residence or that of a family member)
  • Live in one of the program implementation areas (i.e., Toronto, Ottawa)

Exclusion criteria

  • Discharged to additional hospital inpatient care, nursing home, or other long-term care
  • Inability to communicate in English
  • Inability to provide informed consent due to cognitive deficits

Treatment and study plan

Discharge Assistance and Supports at Home (DASH)

Behavioral

One-on-one weekly visits in the stroke survivor participants' residence by a trained volunteer for approximately 8 weeks (about 2 months). Volunteer support could span three types:

i) instrumental activities of daily living assistance (e.g., assistance with meal preparation, light house duties, and transportation), ii) psychosocial support (e.g., befriending visits), and iii) informational supports (signposting to other community services).

Primary outcomes

  1. Coping at Time 1 as assessed by Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (PDCDS)

    Time frame: Measured at 3 months post-hospital discharge

    Coping will be assessed using the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (PDCDS), a 10-item patient-reported outcome measure evaluating perceived difficulty coping following hospital discharge. Each item is scored on a scale from 0 to 10. Item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater difficulty coping.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in coping as assessed by Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (PDCDS)

    Time frame: Measured at 3 months and 6 months post-hospital discharge

    Coping will be assessed using the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (PDCDS), a 10-item patient-reported measure. Each item is scored from 0 to 10, with total scores ranging from 0 to 100. Change in total score will be calculated between time points. Higher scores indicate greater difficulty coping.

  2. Change in quality of life as assessed by Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL)

    Time frame: Measured at 3 months and 6 months post-hospital discharge

    Quality of life will be assessed using the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL) scale, a 49-item patient-reported measure evaluating multiple domains of health-related quality of life in stroke survivors. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 to 5). Domain scores are calculated as the average of items within each domain, and the overall score is calculated as the average of all domain scores or as the sum of all 49 items (ranging 49 to 245). Higher scores indicate better quality of life.

  3. Change in symptoms of depression as assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

    Time frame: Measured at 3 months and 6 months post-hospital discharge

    Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a 9-item patient-reported measure. Each item is scored from 0 to 3, resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.

  4. Change in social isolation and loneliness indicators as assessed by UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3)

    Time frame: Measured at 3 months and 6 months post-hospital discharge

    Social isolation and loneliness will be assessed using the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3), a 20-item patient-reported measure evaluating subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Each item is scored on a 4-point scale. Total scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater loneliness.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Michelle LA Nelson, MA, PhD, FAHA, FWSO

CONTACT

[email protected]

647-938-4425

Research Coordinator

CONTACT

[email protected]

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Bruyère Health Research Institute.

Other

Collaborators

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • March of Dimes, Canada

Registry information

Official study title

Volunteer Facilitated Discharge Assistance and Supports at Home (DASH) for People With Stroke: An Effectiveness-implementation Hybrid Trial.

Acronym: DASH

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
May 15, 2026
Registry last updated
May 18, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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