Factors Associated with Quality of Life: Perspectives of Stroke Survivors

Objective: The purpose of this mixed design study was to examine quality of life from the stroke survivors' perspectives. It addressed the question: What factors have influenced the stroke survivors' quality of life (QOL)? and tested the null hypothesis that stroke has no influence on stroke survivors' QOL. Methods: A mixed design was used with nine stroke survivors who lived at home, were able to communicate and had experienced a stroke at least one year prior to the interview. Four data collection methods were used, including a semi-structured qualitative interview tool, two standardized tools measuring the QOL (the Delighted-Terrible Scale and the Satisfactionwith Life Scale (SWLS)), and field notes. Results: On the Delighted-Terrible Scale the null hypothesis was rejected since the D-max was found to be more than the critical D (0.57 > 0.43), using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov One-Sample test. Similarly, on the SWLS the null hypothesis was rejected as the D-max was found to be more than the critical D (0.49 > 0.43). Most of the participants report being either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their lives on the quantitative measures. Findings from qualitative data presented four themes: doing what you enjoy doing; lost roles and occupations; live with what you have to live with; and hope for the future: improving QOL. Conclusion: In spite of the quantitative findings showing that the stroke survivors perceived themselves as mostly satisfied or satisfied with their lives, the participants talked about the stroke and its consequences in the qualitative part of the study and expressed how the stroke had negatively impacted the quality of their lives. It is recommended that long-term rehabilitation and psychosocial follow-up services be available for stroke survivors. It is apparent from this study that the participants were still in need of these services and were motivated to return to a rehabilitation program. This study strongly suggests that greater attention should be paid to the stroke survivors' QOL in present rehabilitation programs. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.