Life After Stroke During the COVID-19 Pandemic

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To describe the experiences of one's post-stroke life in the midst of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which surfaced as a salient discovery when investigating individuals with stroke's quality of life, lived experiences and unmet needs. DESIGN: Using a cross-sectional, qualitative, semi-structured interview, participants with first time stroke (≥ 21 years) were recruited. Findings were stratified at four time points (1, 3, 6, >12 months) post-stroke. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using the NVivo 12 software. SETTING: Outpatient rehabilitation centre and general community were two settings where participants were recruited from. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were (1) first-time stroke survivors, (2) aged 21 and above and (3) have adequate communication skills. 23 adults (15 female, 8 male) were included in the final analysis. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An interview guide containing questions that investigated participants’ quality of life after stroke was used as an outcome measurement. RESULTS: The key themes were (1) Experiences across continuum and context (2) Altered social participation (3) Resuming valued activities and occupations and (4) “Blessing in disguise”. Interaction in the community were significantly affected due to social distancing measures. The ability to resume valued activities had to be shifted virtually, or temporarily put to a halt. On a positive note, working from home opportunities emerged widely following the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with stroke experienced a range of implications due to the pandemic. Clinicians should establish other rehabilitation delivery options, such as telerehabilitation, in times of a pandemic. Future study can help to foster a smooth transition to telerehabilitation by investigating the required steps needed for this virtual shift. AUTHOR(S) DISCLOSURES: All authors have no conflict of interest.