“I am not living my life”: Lived experience of participation in everyday occupations after stroke in Tehran

Abstract

Enabling participation after stroke within a client-centred paradigm in this socio-cultural context requires consideration of the essential meaning of this concept as characterized by the dynamic process between the characteristics of "doing", "identity", and "living life". The study highlights how the provision of efficient rehabilitation services in this Eastern context requires attention to both "doing" and to "identity" in rehabilitation interventions, in order to enable individuals to adapt to their new lives after stroke and to "live their lives".

Experiences of participation in everyday occupations among persons aging with a tetraplegia

“…These findings can add to the knowledge of participation explored by Hammel et al [16], who described participation, based on experiences from persons with disabilities, as a dynamic process that involves a constant negotiation and balancing act of competing needs and values across individual, social and societal levels. Earlier research has also shown that experiences of participation can be viewed as a person's opportunity to choose, access and make decisions about engagement in occupations [16,38,39]. This is in line with our results that show that participants several years after the SCI were active in making choices about occupations they would participate in based on their personal needs and how they valued and experienced meaning in occupations.…”

Perceived stress in elderly stroke survivors after hospital discharge to home

“…The total or partial loss of independence is one of the most difficult transition experiences for stroke survivors (6,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) . For them, participation in activities of daily living is something more than the fulfilment of their routine; it represents their identity/existence and satisfaction in a dynamic process (7) . The need for assistance to carry out activities of daily living can arouse feelings of loss of control over one's life and even loss of identity.…”

“…The need for assistance to carry out activities of daily living can arouse feelings of loss of control over one's life and even loss of identity. As a result of identity conflict and the feeling of being unable to manage his/her own life, stroke survivors describe their lives as stressful, challenging and difficult to handle (7) . It is noteworthy that the sample of this study consists only of the elderly.…”

“…For the survivor, returning home after hospitalization due to stroke is, at first, a time of joy and attempt to restore normality (6) . However, once they realize that they cannot carry out the activities of everyday life as before and that there was loss of their daily routine, coming back home becomes a challenging experience and a critical period (7) . That is when survivors realize the true impact and repercussions of stroke in their lives (6,8) .…”

From patients to teachers: the perspectives of trainers with aphasia in a UK Conversation Partner Scheme

“…This may result in people feeling unable to participate, becoming a burden to others, "not seen as a whole person" (Dalemans et al, 2010, p. 542), or "feeling useless" (Horton, Lane, Macrae, Bell, & Watson, 2013). Stroke survivors' re-engagement in personally meaningful occupations and community life is viewed as particularly important for long-term health and well-being (Fallahpour, Jonsson, Joghataei, Nasrabadi, & Tham, 2013;Kubina, Dubouloz, Davis, Kessler, & Egan, 2013). Disengagement and the resulting social isolation not only occur through personal choice, but may also arise from other people's behaviour-for example, people with aphasia are often excluded from research studies as information and insight is deemed too difficult to gather (Carlsson, Paterson, ScottFindlay, Ehnfors, & Ehrenberg, 2007;Dalemans, Wade, van den Heuvel, & de Witte, 2009).…”