Art after stroke: the qualitative experience of community dwelling stroke survivors in a group art programme.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to qualitatively explore the experience of community dwelling stroke survivors' participation in an arts health group programme and possible health benefits to quality of life (QOL) and wellbeing. METHOD: Sixteen participants were conveniently sampled to participate in two group art programmes, both held weekly over a period of 8 weeks. Qualitative data were collected through two focus groups (n = 9) and individual interviews (n = 11). Qualitative analysis of the data was undertaken, using a grounded theory approach incorporating constant comparison. RESULTS: Age ranged from 43 to 81 years. Four themes emerged including: experience of stroke, benefit of art, benefit for self and benefit of group experience. Participants experienced improved confidence, self-efficacy, QOL and community participation through involvement in an arts health programme. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of an arts health programme after stroke made a substantial impact on well-being and QOL. Results from this study are promising and this is a model that warrants rigorous investigation regarding the impact of art on QOL and wellbeing. This study also highlighted the need for community resources to address community re-integration and service provision in the form of age appropriate, activity-based groups for stroke survivors.

Community-dwelling stroke survivors: function is not the whole story with quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To compare function and quality of life in community-dwelling stroke survivors at 1, 3, and 5 years after stroke. DESIGN: A community-based, cross-sectional study of 3 retrospective cohorts. SETTING: Community-dwelling stroke survivors in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: The 3 cohorts comprised 30 participants each at 1, 3, and 5 years poststroke discharge from a tertiary referral hospital. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stroke severity, comorbidity, medications used, and demographic information were recorded. Poststroke function was assessed using the Modified Rankin Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Stroke Impact Scale, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. RESULTS: This cross-sectional study provides insights into trends in stroke survivors over time. A high proportion of stroke survivors use community services, even those who are independent with activities of daily living. Although there was little attrition in medication use over time except for warfarin, this was from a baseline of suboptimal compliance and adherence with stroke preventive therapies. Stroke survivors report high levels of perceived social support; however, emotional well-being was low overall. The data suggest that those who are independent at 1 year tend to remain independent, although this was an extrapolation from serial cross-sections and needs to be explored in a longitudinal study. CONCLUSIONS: Stroke survivors' function does not change significantly over time. A high proportion of survivors require community services. The development of needs-related effective long-term service delivery models is required.