Returning to work after stroke
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing primary care and rehabilitation services to help stroke survivors return to work: insights from focus groups.
IRAS ID
171328
Contact name
Jonathan Mant
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 8 days
Research summary
Our purpose is identifying new ways for primary care and rehabilitation services to work together in helping young stroke survivors returning to work after stroke.
Each year 110,000 people in England suffer a stroke, a quarter of whom are of working age. A recent study estimates the cost of stroke care in UK to be £9 billion/year, of which 30% (£2.3 billions) is income and productivity loss. Enabling people with chronic conditions to work has positive effects on health and there is an association between unemployment and physical and mental health problems.
Many people of working age who have a stroke want to return to work, but encounter difficulties. Existing research does not give us clear cut answers as to how society can best enable people with stroke to achieve this. Primary care professionals like GPs and nurses could play a more active role in providing ongoing support for stroke survivors returning to work. We will run 5 focus group discussions gathering together 10 stroke survivors aged 18-65 years, 2-4 employers, 2 GPs and one occupational therapist from 2 primary care practices, one rural and one urban. Patients will be invited by a letter from their practice to take part in 3 focus groups that will be held in the practice premises and facilitated by a researcher and an occupational therapist. The final focus group will be gathering all participants together in one place and be joined by service commissioners. Out of these focus groups, we will develop a model for primary care and rehabilitation services to link together to help stroke survivors return to work.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0133
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion