The active role (participation) that patients with chronic conditions are able to achieve has increasingly been recognised as a measure for the effectiveness of prevention and rehabilitation strategies. An empowerment scale is an especially effective instrument for measuring social participation and was applied to stroke patients in neurological rehabilitation for the first time. 26 stroke survivors and 26 informal carers who participated in self-help groups in Lower Austria were surveyed. The mean age was 63.9 (±10.4) (stroke survivors) and 61.9 (±9.6) years (informal carers).