Stroke patients in rural areas are lacking in community support compared to those in metropolitan areas following discharge from hospital. To address this, the heart and stroke charity Croí is running a 6-week stroke integration programme to provide education, support and practical tips to stroke patients following discharge to the community. The programme will be facilitated by the multi-disciplinary team at Croí.
This project aims to examine the impact of this stroke integration group on aspects of perceived community re-integration, as well as experience participating in the group, from stroke patients engaged with the group. To achieve this, the study will follow a qualitative design. Participants who have taken part in the programme will be given the option to take part in semi-structured interviews or focus groups following conclusion of the stroke integration group. Interviewees will be given the option to complete interviews either in-person or digitally, while focus groups will be carried out in person. Interviews or focus groups will follow a pre-defined topic guide covering areas around the perceived impact of the group, such as independence, re-establishment of physical function and return to pre-morbid lifestyle. Participants will also be asked to share their experience of participating in the group.
Interviews/focus groups will be transcribed and thematic analysis of the transcriptions will be carried out. Themes will be developed to reflect the rich descriptions of experience with the stroke integration group obtained through the interviews or focus groups. The results of this data analysis will be used to create a report which will be presented to Croí to shape the delivery of future stroke integration groups. An academic publication of this research, along with a presentation at the National Stroke Conference, are also possible following creation of this report.
