Suffering a stroke can have a profound effect on relationships and lead to significant changes in how couples relate to each other on a physical, psychological, social and emotional level, according a study in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing .
Researchers from Northern Ireland have come up with four key recommendations for clinical practice after speaking to 16 married stroke survivors, nine males and seven females, aged between 33 and 78.
They found that sexual relationships were significantly affected after a stroke, gender roles became blurred and feelings like anger and frustration were confounded by a lack of independence and ongoing fatigue.
"All the participants perceived stroke as a life-changing event" says Hilary Thompson, who is based at Mullinure Hospital, Armagh, and carried out the research with Dr Assumpta Ryan from the School of Nursing and Institute of Nursing Research at the University of Ulster.
"They faced a continuous daily struggle to achieve some sense of normality and that required huge amounts of physical and mental effort" adds Hilary, a nurse specialist, who earlier this month won the Patient's Choice Award at the RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year 2009 for the support she provided to the family of a stroke survivor.
Key findings included:
"There is no doubt that strokes have a profound effect on relationships and our research showed many of the physical, psychological, social and emotional issues a stroke can raise" says co-author Dr Ryan. "It is important to point out that stroke can happen at any age and many of the survivors who took part in our study were relatively young."
Four were aged between 33 and 43, two between 44 and 54, six between 55 and 65 and four between 66 and 78. The time since their stroke ranged from two months to four years, with an average of 18 months.
As a result of the study the researchers have come up with four key recommendations for clinical practice.
These recommendations are:
Notes to editors
The impact of stroke consequences on spousal relationships from the perspective of the person with stroke. Thompson H S and Ryan A. Journal of Clinical Nursing . 18, 1803-1811. (June 2009).
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Journal of Clinical Nursing