The Uncertain-Trauma (Uncertain-T) Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Managing Uncertainty After a Stroke: Development and Acceptability of a Brief Psychological Trauma-Informed Intervention to Help Recognise and Reduce Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Stroke Survivors
IRAS ID
344411
Contact name
Navneet Aujla
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 8 months, 17 days
Research summary
The number of people experiencing a stroke is growing each year and many will develop post-traumatic stress symptoms. This is where individuals feel so shocked, confused, and upset by what has happened that it changes the way that they think and feel after a stroke and how they behave. Many will experience nightmares and flashbacks with negative thoughts about stroke, and worry and low mood. They may also avoid things that remind them of their stroke and they might develop a new fear of the unknown.
These effects are not always identified and treated in stroke survivors, making it harder to cope and impacting their mood, relationships, and recovery following stroke. Individuals may also struggle to tolerate the new uncertainties in their daily lives, including how well they might recover and if they will have another stroke.
This research aims to:
1. Develop a new in-person/telephone treatment to help build tolerance to uncertainty and address unhelpful thoughts about stroke to reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms in stroke survivors.
2. Explore what people think about the treatment and develop plans to refine and further test/deliver it in the future.
We will recruit 174 stroke patients while in hospital or during rehabilitation from multiple NHS sites to fill in some questionnaires about how they are feeling 3, 6, and 12-months after their stroke. The findings will help develop the treatment through workshops and feedback from 30 stroke survivors/carers. We will then deliver the treatment to 25 stroke survivors and gather some information about them and from 20 stroke carers/healthcare professionals about what they think of the treatment and how it could be improved.
This will help us further develop, refine, and test the treatment in more people later to see if it successfully improves post-traumatic stress symptoms, coping, and recovery in stroke survivors.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/EE/0029
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion