Abstract
Objectives: Providing information about the process of post-stroke recovery, and
individuals’ likely outlook can be challenging for professionals, which may lead to avoidance of this important issue, leaving patients’ and carers’ needs unmet in relation to understanding their recovery. We aimed to understand professionals’ experiences and views of providing information about recovery in stroke units.
Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of a wider ethnographic case-study. A Framework approach to analysis was employed.
Setting: Two UK stroke units.
Participants: Nineteen qualified stroke unit professionals with a range of experience levels participated, including doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and a nurse.
Results: Three themes and seven sub-themes were generated. Participants across
disciplines perceived that discussing recovery could have important benefits, although many lacked guidance about their roles in this domain. Skills in predicting recovery and sharing these predictions were learned experientially and therapists reported a lack of preparatory training and confidence, resulting in perceptions of mixed experiences for patients. Many professionals worried about the consequences of sharing personalised predictions, including
the impact on patients’ hope and motivation, and their ability to manage patients’ and families’ emotional responses. These concerns could result in professionals experiencing negative psychological consequences, for which limited formal support was available.
Conclusions: Stroke unit professionals perceive that providing information about recovery, including individualised predictions, to patients and carers has important benefits, however they require additional guidance, support, and training to confidently engage in this important area of clinical practice.
individuals’ likely outlook can be challenging for professionals, which may lead to avoidance of this important issue, leaving patients’ and carers’ needs unmet in relation to understanding their recovery. We aimed to understand professionals’ experiences and views of providing information about recovery in stroke units.
Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of a wider ethnographic case-study. A Framework approach to analysis was employed.
Setting: Two UK stroke units.
Participants: Nineteen qualified stroke unit professionals with a range of experience levels participated, including doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and a nurse.
Results: Three themes and seven sub-themes were generated. Participants across
disciplines perceived that discussing recovery could have important benefits, although many lacked guidance about their roles in this domain. Skills in predicting recovery and sharing these predictions were learned experientially and therapists reported a lack of preparatory training and confidence, resulting in perceptions of mixed experiences for patients. Many professionals worried about the consequences of sharing personalised predictions, including
the impact on patients’ hope and motivation, and their ability to manage patients’ and families’ emotional responses. These concerns could result in professionals experiencing negative psychological consequences, for which limited formal support was available.
Conclusions: Stroke unit professionals perceive that providing information about recovery, including individualised predictions, to patients and carers has important benefits, however they require additional guidance, support, and training to confidently engage in this important area of clinical practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 30 May 2025 |
