Published: 23-05-2019 15:03 | Updated: 24-05-2019 13:23

New thesis: Participation in everyday life after stroke

Hi Martha Gustavsson, PhD-student at the Division of Occupational Therapy. On 29 May you will defend your thesis ”Participation in everyday life after stroke: Development and evaluation of F@ce – a team-based, person-centred rehabilitation intervention supported by Information and Communication Technology”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

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The focus of this thesis were the development and testing of a new intervention, F@ce, for rehabilitation after stroke. First, people who had had stroke and professionals in the rehabilitation after stroke were interviewed about their use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Secundly the intervention was developed based on previous research and the new knowledge that emerged.

Which are the most important results?

The most important results are that people who have had a stroke need to use ICT in their daily lives, although they may need support. When the intervention F@ce was tested, it proved to be useful and gave good results, even in a short time. F@ce seemed to act as a good support for the teams by giving them a structure to follow and supporting them in setting goals that are based on what the person wants and needs to do in their everyday life. The people who had had a stroke and who participated in the project appreciated the daily reminders of their rehabilitation goals and they described that they made them more active and involved in their daily lives.

How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people’s health?

The rehabilitation after stroke needs to be developed and the testing of the intervention on a small scale could facilitate a future implementation. In addition, the research can contribute to an increased understanding of the experience of using ICT for people affected by stroke.