Quality of Life After Stroke and Aphasia:Stroke Survivors’ and Spouses’ Perspectives.Emma Jane FordAugust 2014Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Staffordshire and Keele Universities for the jointly awarded degree ofDoctorate in Clinical Psychology
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: \nA thesis was completed as part of the author’s Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Having previously \nworked in research teams investigating the impact of stroke and aphasia upon individuals and \nspending two years working therapeutically with people with low mood and post-stroke aphasia, a \npassion for aiding this client group to achieve a good quality of life was developed. Furthermore, \ncompleting this work highlighted the paucity of good quality research including this population, \ndespite having learned from personal experience that it was feasible to do so, given that the \nappropriate adaptations and considerations were made to accommodate communication difficulties. \nSubsequently, a need for further research regarding quality of life post-stroke and aphasia was \nacknowledged. An initial review of the existing literature regarding quality of life post-stroke \nand aphasia was conducted, to determine what was already known, and what remained to be found. The \nstudies identified for review were subjected to evaluation. The outcome of the review suggested \nthat quality of life was a complex, multifaceted concept, impacted by a number of factors, but that \nit was not possible to determine for certain what factors were important in achieving a good \nquality of life, primarily due to the methodological limitations of the studies forming the \nevidence base. Chiefly, the data collection methods used were seemingly inappropriate for people \nwith communication difficulties. Thus it was proposed that the more aphasia friendly, Q methodology \napproach was utilised to gather the views of people with post-stroke aphasia about what factors \nwere important to achieve a good quality of life. Six aphasic stroke survivors and five spouses \ncompleted a Q sort task, in which they were required to rank a number of statements depicting \ndifferent factors related to quality of life, in terms of personal importance. Spouses did this \ntask from the perspective of the stroke survivor. Ultimately, two factors were identified: \n‘returning to the pre-stroke self’ which represented the stroke survivors of working age, and ‘life \nbeyond stroke, what’s important now?’ which reflected the views of the older, retired participants. \nThe two factors were considered in relation to Erikson’s (1968) psychosocial stages of development \nmodel and in terms of stroke recovery models (Holbrook, \nQuality of Life After Stroke and Aphasia \n1982; Kirkevold, 2002). Significant, strong and positive pair-wise correlations between the Q sort \noutcomes of the stroke survivors’ and their respective spouses’ suggested that spouses could \nreliably report the stroke survivors’ views regarding quality of life. The importance of the \nfindings in relation to the work of a clinical psychologist was subsequently considered.
Author: Emma Jane Ford
Language: English
Subfield: Rehabilitation
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W901358897