Stroke rehabilitation: assessing stroke survivors' long-term learning needs

Abstract

What are the long-term learning needs of stroke survivors who must adapt to living with stroke-related disabilities? A broad-based educational needs assessment was conducted to find answers to this question and to gain insight into the concerns and challenges facing stroke survivors who have returned to living in the community. Stroke survivors, family members, and rehabilitation healthcare professionals were surveyed; positive responses strongly indicated that there was interest in learning more about the selected topics. Although there was congruence across all groups, healthcare professionals indicated that they felt more strongly than either patients or patients' family members that stroke survivors need to learn more about the facts and statistics of strokes. Stroke survivors and family members indicated a stronger interest in learning about complementary therapies such as massage, acupuncture, and the role of food and vitamins. Time since stroke was an influencing factor for both stroke survivors and family members in their responses to how strongly they wanted to learn about various topics. The findings from this needs assessment formed the basis for an educational course that uses a holistic approach to address the physical, emotional, social, economic, and spiritual aspects of adapting to living with stroke-related disabilities.