J Rehabil Med 46 ORIGINAL REPORT J Rehabil Med 2014; 46: 858–863 © 2014 The Authors. doi: 10.2340/16501977-1854 Journal Compilation © 2014 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information. ISSN 1650-1977 Objective: To explore stroke survivors’, caregivers’, and health care professionals’ perceptions of weekend passes of- fered during inpatient rehabilitation and its role in facilitat- ing the transition home. Design: Qualitative descriptive. Subjects: Sixteen stroke survivors, 15 caregivers, and 20 health care professionals’ from a rehabilitation hospital. Methods: Participants discussed their perceptions of the pur- pose of the weekend pass, experiences with the weekend pass including supports needed, and weekend pass administra- tion. Focus group and interview data were audio recorded, professionally transcribed, checked for accuracy, and ana- lyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: We identified 3 key themes: i) preparing for patients to be safe at home; ii) gaining insight through the weekend pass; and iii) the emotional context of the weekend pass. These themes varied by participant group. Conclusions: When offering weekend passes, stroke care systems should carefully consider patients’ and caregivers’ readiness, emotional state, and preparation for weekend passes. The weekend pass experience can inform in-patient therapy, provide patients and caregivers with insight into life after stroke, and help prepare patients and families for the ultimate transition home. Key words: stroke; rehabilitation; caregiver; transitions; health care professionals; health service delivery; qualitative. J Rehabil Med 2014; 46: 858–863 Correspondence address: Jill Cameron, Department of Oc- cupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 160-500 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada. E-mail: jill.cameron@utoronto.ca Accepted Apr 17, 2014; Epub ahead of print Aug 28, 2014 INTRODUCTION Individuals who experience a stroke utilize many elements of the health care system including emergency department, acute hospital, inpatient rehabilitation, community, and long- term care services. Unfortunately, these elements tend to lack a common coordinating system (1) and stroke survivors and family caregivers are often left to manage their movement across these diverse care environments (2). Patients and their caregivers suggest the transition home is the most challenging (3, 4). Many stroke survivors and caregivers feel anxiety, a lack of preparedness, and a sense of abandonment as they return to the community (5, 6). Strategies to improve the transition home would not only benefit stroke survivors and their caregivers but could also reduce hospital readmissions, home care demands, and overall health care costs (7). Since the early 1970s, weekend passes (WPs) have been rec- ommended as a method to facilitate stroke survivors’ transition home (8). A WP typically entails stroke survivors going home under the supervision of their family from Friday to Sunday evening. For many health care organizations, WPs have become standard practice, but we were not able to identify any research examining their impact on the transition home, or on stroke survivors’, family caregivers’ or health care professionals’ (HCPs) experiences with them. The objective of our research was to obtain an in-depth understanding of patients’, family caregivers’, and HCPs’ per- ception of WPs and its role in facilitating the transition home. METHODS Study design A qualitative descriptive approach was used to obtain a rich and in- depth account of participants’ perspectives on the WP and to develop a data-near report (9–11). Recruitment and sample The research was conducted at a rehabilitation facility in a large urban center where WPs are a standard element of their in-patient program. The study protocol was approved by the University’s and rehabilitation facil- ity’s research ethics boards. Members of the research team approached, recruited, and interviewed consecutive patients and caregivers during the week following the first WP. Second interviews took place approximately 4 weeks after patients had been fully discharged home. HCPs affiliated with the stroke team were invited to participate in one of 3 focus groups or an in-depth interview. All participants provided written consent. STROKE SURVIVORS’, CAREGIVERS’, AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THE WEEKEND PASS TO FACILITATE TRANSITION HOME Jill I. Cameron, PhD 1,2,5 , Marina Bastawrous, MSc 2 , Amanda Marsella, MSc, Samantha Forde, MScOT 1 , Leslie Smale, MScOT 1 , Judith Friedland, PhD 1,2 , Denyse Richardson, MD 3,5 and Gary Naglie, MD 3,4,5,6 From the 1 Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, 2 Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science, 3 Department of Medicine, and 4 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 5 Department of Research, UHN – Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and 6 Department of Medicine and Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada