Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jul;40(7):518-23.
doi: 10.2340/16501977-0203.

A qualitative study of quality of life after stroke: the importance of social relationships

Elizabeth B Lynch  1 , Zeeshan Butt, Allen Heinemann, David Victorson, Cindy J Nowinski, Lori Perez, David Cella
Affiliations

A qualitative study of quality of life after stroke: the importance of social relationships

Elizabeth B Lynch et al. J Rehabil Med. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in the USA; however, we have an incomplete understanding of how stroke affects long-term quality of life.

Methods: We report here findings from focus groups with 9 long-term stroke survivors and 6 caregivers addressing patients' post-stroke quality of life.

Results: Key themes identified by patients were: social support, coping mechanisms, communication, physical functioning and independence. Role changes in patients were important to caregivers. Much of the discussion with patients and caregivers described specific ways in which the stroke altered social relationships.

Conclusion: These findings are consistent with prior research indicating the importance of social factors to quality of life following stroke. Our findings suggest that measures of stroke-related quality of life should include assessment of social function and social support.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American Heart Association. Heart disease and stroke statistics – 2007 update. Cirkulation. 2007;115:e69–e171. - PubMed
    1. Muntner P, Garrett E, Klag MJ, Coresh J. Trends in stroke prevalence between 1973 and 1991 in the us population 25 to 74 years of age. Stroke. 2002;33:1209–1213. - PubMed
    1. Carandang R, Seshadri S, Beiser A, Kelly-Hayes M, Kase CS, Kannel WB, Wolf PA. Trends in incidence, lifetime risk, severity, and 30-day mortality of stroke over the past 50 years. JAMA. 2006;296:2939–2946. - PubMed
    1. Kaplan RM. The significance of quality of life in health care. Qual Life Res. 2003;12(Suppl 1):3–16. - PubMed
    1. Wilson IB, Cleary PD. Linking clinical variables with health-related quality of life. A conceptual model of patient outcomes. JAMA. 1995;273:59–65. - PubMed

Publication types