This study investigated the relationship between motor function and functional abilities confidence level among community-dwelling stroke survivors. Fifty patients (mean age 54.84±10.68 years) who suffered first incidence hemispheric cerebrovascular accident and were undergoing physiotherapy on outpatient basis at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. a tertiary health institution in Nigeria, took part in the study. The mean onset of stroke was 15 months (60.30±39.80 weeks). Assessment of motor function and functional abilities confidence level were carried out once with the Modified Motor Assessment Scale (MMAS) and Functional Ability Confidence Scale (FCAS) respectively. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was used to analyse the relationship between motor function and functional abilities confidence level at 0.05 alpha. The result of the analysis showed that there was a significantly positive correlation between the motor function and functional abilities confidence level (rho= 0.57; p = 0.05). The outcome of this study revealed a linear and statistically significant relationship between motor function and functional ability confidence. It is probable that clinical assessment of confidence levels of stroke survivors could provide an insight into factors that affect recovery, other than the pathological sequelae of stroke, and subsequently, the necessary interventions.

 

Key words: functional abilities confidence level, motor function, stroke.