Stroke

PURPOSE: (1) Describe the challenges facing relatives of persons with stroke in accomplishing their daily activities and social roles (participation). (2) Reflect on the role of rehabilitation for relatives and ethical issues that may emerge following the adoption of a family-centred approach.

Purpose. Despite increasing evidence of adverse effects on informal carers of caring for stroke survivors, little is known about the characteristics of carers and survivors that influence carer outcomes. The purpose of this review is to summarize factors influencing outcomes in carers of stroke survivors. Methods. A systematic review of studies identified from English language medicine, nursing and psychology databases from 1996 - 2006 was carried out. Results. Thirty-nine studies were identified. Studies from Europe and the USA investigating negative carer outcomes dominated.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the psychometric properties of PRECiS (Patient Reported Evaluation of Cognitive State): A new patient-centred, patient reported outcome measure for perceived impact of cognitive problems, developed through qualitative work, systematic review and service user consultation.

DESIGN: An observational study exploring acceptability, internal consistency, construct validity, inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability, with opportunistic qualitative data on sensitivity to change.

SETTING: Home visits in the community.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has focused on the longer term needs of 'new' stroke patients at fixed time intervals after the event, but neglected those of stroke patients who may have had the event many years earlier.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the long-term support needs of patients with prevalent stroke, and their carers identified from practice stroke registers.

DESIGN OF STUDY: Patients and their carers were invited to attend focus groups at the university, a nursing home or in the community.

This Canadian study aimed to emulate face-to-face psychosocial support group process in an Internet videoconferencing environment and explore the benefits for 34 family caregivers of persons with neurodegenerative disease. Caregivers were provided with computer equipment and trained to access a password-protected Web site. Using videoconferencing software, each group of 6 members met with a facilitator online weekly for 10 weeks. Each caregiver was interviewed at 6-month follow-up.

Stroke affects 120 000 people each year in the UK and is the most common cause of adult-onset disability. Most stroke patients are cared for at home by informal carers. Support for these carers is provided by the community services, but although single-item measures have shown that there is a relatively high level of dissatisfaction with those services, there is no specific satisfaction measurement instrument. The present study aimed to construct and initially validate a questionnaire to measure carers’ satisfaction with community services for clinical and research purposes.

Background/Aim: Stroke is a well-documented public health problem in low, middle, and high-income countries. Post stroke, patients are discharged home quite early and usually need help with activities of daily living. This help is usually provided by informal carers. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of carer education on functional abilities of patients with stroke in a low resource setting where access to rehabilitation post discharge was limited.

This article examines the ways in which sufferers talk about early stroke and the effects this chronic condition has on identify. Traditional research into chronic illness has largely used medical, psychiatric or cognitive models. The authors adopt a social constructionist perspective and use a discourse analytic methodology to study data collected via focus group interaction. Analysis of the data collected shows that participants displayed sensitivity about having acquired a potentially 'damaged' sense of self by mitigating negative features of their experiences.

Anne Marie Tunney and Assumpta Ryan discuss a study that used the experiences of women caring for survivors to assist service redesign

Aim  The aim of this study was to explore how members of a stroke carers’ support group perceived that services for stroke patients and their carers could be improved.