ABSTRACT
In the United States, more than 780,000 people annually suffer a new or recurrent stroke, which has emerged as one of the leading causes of severe and long-term disability (American Heart Association, 2008). This health crisis refl ects considerable human suffering as well as an enormous economic burden. According to the American Heart Association (2008), the health care costs of caring for stroke victims is estimated to cost about $65.5 billion in 2008 alone. The poststroke disability manifests itself in functional impairments such as diffi culty in handling multiple activities of daily living (e.g., dressing, preparing and eating a meal, bathing, etc.). Quality of life tends to be severely impacted by stroke (Jonsson, Lindgren, Hallstrom, Norrving, & Lindgren, 2005; Mayo, Wood-Dauphinee, Cote, Durcan, & Carlton, 2002).
