Patients' physical activity in stroke units in Latvia and Sweden

OBJECTIVE: A prospective, observational study to describe levels of physical activity in patients with stroke in a comprehensive stroke unit in Sweden and Latvia, comparing data between countries. METHODS: The study was performed at stroke units in one hospital in Sweden (data were acquired over a 2‐month period in 2017) and two hospitals in Latvia (data were acquired over a 3‐month period between 2016 and 2017). Patients with stroke were observed for 1 min every 10 min. The level of physical activity, location, and the people present were noted at each time‐point. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients were observed in Latvia and 25 patients in Sweden. Patients from both countries were in bed half of the time and spent the majority of the day in their bedroom and alone. Patients in Sweden had higher physical activity levels, spent more time outside their bedroom and spent more time with rehabilitation specialists and visitors. CONCLUSION: Patients are inactive and alone for a majority of the time during hospitalization at a comprehensive stroke unit in both countries. There are differences in environment in the stroke unit between countries.