The impact of rehabilitation on the community life of stroke survivors in Accra, Ghana

BACKGROUND: Return to pre-stroke life is of great importance to stroke survivors, their families and communities as stroke affects their ability to perform activities of daily living. It is therefore important to understand the impact of stroke rehabilitation on the community life of stroke survivors in Ghana as there are limited data. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to explore and describe the views of stroke survivors on the impact of stroke rehabilitation on their community life. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 15 stroke survivors recruited from three selected hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and this gave rise to several themes. RESULTS: The authors found that stroke left most of the survivors with functional limitations and they required various degrees of assistance to perform their activities of daily living. As the stroke survivors received rehabilitation, most of them mentioned improvements in function. However, most participants were still unable to return to work and enjoy social or leisure activities. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that attention needs to be given to the occupational and social management in rehabilitation as much as it is given to the physical management, to improve community integration post-stroke. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our study highlights the need to take into consideration the occupational and social aspects of life as part of the rehabilitation process for stroke survivors.