Stroke survivors go into the wild
Research type
Research Study
Full title
“Into the wild”: Identifying the main challenges to real-world function in young stroke survivors
IRAS ID
312554
Contact name
Hannah Jarvis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Metropolitan University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 3 days
Research summary
Stroke has devastating consequences for a survivors' physical, mental, and cognitive health. However, while cases of stroke continue to rise, there are still large gaps in knowledge in how to best design rehabilitation programmes for stroke survivors. This is most evident with research into younger stroke survivors who often have differing needs to their older counterparts particularly when it comes to their ability to return to work, complete activities of daily living and participate in social activities. Sadly, less than a quarter of young stroke survivors manage to return to work and our previous work has shown that this is related to the many difficulties stroke survivors are faced with such as walking, using an upper limb or thinking coherently. There are no dedicated rehabilitation programmes for young stroke survivors and the limited research that has been carried out is generally specific to clinical scenarios that do not replicate the challenges to walking in real-world environments. The overarching aim of this project is to identify and understand the challenges young stroke survivors face when navigating the "real-world". To achieve this, we will firstly interview young stroke survivors to determine their thoughts regarding the barriers and challenges they face when walking in "real-world" environments. We will then compare these findings with actual performance of the survivors in a "real-world" situation (e.g., navigating in busy streets and crossing roads) while recording walking metrics and eye-movement behaviour to determine any links between perceived and actual challenges. These findings will provide a detailed understanding of the problems with movement control and decision making in young stroke survivors. This will provide a solid basis for further research to assist with the design of rehabilitation program(s) for young stroke survivors that target "real-world" challenges. If rehabilitation can be centred on these challenges, this may make truly relevant improvements for everyday life that could provide a much greater chance of returning to work and active social interactions alongside the physical benefits. In the first study of its kind, this project will be ground-breaking in linking the concerns and challenges of the "real-world" as described by young survivors themselves with their actual abilities in "real- world" environments faced every day. By making these links rehabilitation could begin to be optimised in a way that targets more than just physical function but to actively ensure it has a true impact on everyday life.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/0671
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion