Self-management after stroke: a feasibility study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study promoting self-management to improve physical function and quality of life after stroke.
IRAS ID
138375
Contact name
Euan Sadler
Contact email
Research summary
A self-management intervention to improve physical function and quality of life after stroke\n\nThe aim of this study is to evaluate an intervention promoting self-management to improve physical function and quality of life (QOL) after stroke.\n\nStroke is the leading cause of physical disability. The government is keen to promote self management-ways of helping people to look after the long term effects of their condition. Existing studies have shown only short term benefits. Attention has focused on training health professionals to support self-management among individuals with long term conditions. However, we do not know how they work with stroke survivors to help them to self-manage the effects of stroke.\n\nOur earlier work focused on support provided by physiotherapists to stroke survivors and their carers to learn self-management. An earlier stage of our research found it important for stroke survivors to learn self-management skills as early as possible and that a collaborative supportive relationship with a physiotherapist was an important context to do this. However, there were variations in clinical practice, especially in the hospital setting and among more junior physiotherapists.\n\nWe developed an intervention based on a training programme for physiotherapists and a communication tool. The purpose of the intervention is to enhance physiotherapists’ skills in developing collaborative relationships and interactions with stroke patients to foster self-management in hospital and when discharged home. 15 stroke survivors will be recruited from the South London Stroke Register (SLSR). Evaluation of the intervention will entail: physiotherapists’ perception of self-management support; participants’ physical function and QOL at baseline and three months after stroke; observations of therapy sessions, interviews and focus groups. The intervention group will be compared to a control group from a second hospital based on analysis of routine anonymised data from the SLSR. The study will last 10 and a half months.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EE/0396
Date of REC Opinion
31 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion