Alahmari Wafa Saeed, Shalabi Kholood Matouq, Basuodan Reem M, Alhowimel Ahmed Saad, Alotaibi Mazyad
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Centre for Rehabilitation and Ageing Research, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
J Multidiscip Healthc. 2023 Dec 4;16:3761-3776. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S434312. eCollection 2023.
Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a debilitating condition that negatively impacts the quality of life of stroke survivors. The rehabilitation of stroke survivors is important for their quality of life, and rehabilitation programs that cater to the needs of these patients are required. However, there is very little published information on their needs, especially in the Middle East. Therefore, this study aimed to explore stroke survivors' perceptions and experiences of PSF and its causes, its impact on their daily life, their coping strategies, and support from physicians and caregivers in the context of Saudi Arabia.
This qualitative interview study was conducted with eight post-stroke survivors from two tertiary stroke centers in Saudi Arabia.
The responses in the interviews showed high heterogeneity. From the responses, five main themes and several subthemes were generated: (1) description of PSF as both a physical and psychological experience; (2) perceived causes of PSF (physical causes, psychological causes, and stroke-related causes); (3) impact of PSF on daily life (activities of daily living and social interactions); (4) coping strategies for PSF (pacing, self-motivation, and social participation); and (5) perspectives about support from caregivers and healthcare practitioners (lack of support, provision of information about PSF and its management, physiotherapy interventions, encouragement, and overprotectiveness).
Stroke survivors have variable physical and psychological experiences of PSF and variable perceptions of its causes and impact. High heterogeneity was also noted in the perception of support provided by healthcare providers and families or caregivers-ranging from lack of support to overprotection. Similarly, patients' perceptions of the role of physiotherapy and their attitude towards physiotherapy were also variable. Despite this, the findings do highlight the need for more individualized understanding of PSF and the development of treatment strategies that consider biological, psychological, and social factors.
中风后疲劳（PSF）是一种使人衰弱的病症，会对中风幸存者的生活质量产生负面影响。中风幸存者的康复对其生活质量很重要，因此需要有满足这些患者需求的康复计划。然而，关于他们需求的公开信息非常少，尤其是在中东地区。因此，本研究旨在探讨沙特阿拉伯背景下中风幸存者对PSF及其成因的认知和体验、其对日常生活的影响、他们的应对策略以及来自医生和护理人员的支持。
本定性访谈研究对来自沙特阿拉伯两个三级中风中心的八名中风后幸存者进行。
访谈中的回答显示出高度的异质性。从这些回答中，产生了五个主要主题和几个子主题：（1）将PSF描述为一种身体和心理体验；（2）PSF的感知成因（身体原因、心理原因和与中风相关的原因）；（3）PSF对日常生活的影响（日常生活活动和社交互动）；（4）PSF的应对策略（调整节奏、自我激励和社会参与）；以及（5）对护理人员和医疗从业者支持的看法（缺乏支持、提供有关PSF及其管理的信息、物理治疗干预、鼓励和过度保护）。
中风幸存者对PSF有不同的身体和心理体验，对其成因和影响也有不同的认知。在医疗服务提供者以及家庭或护理人员提供的支持方面，也存在高度异质性——从缺乏支持到过度保护。同样，患者对物理治疗作用的认知及其对物理治疗的态度也各不相同。尽管如此，这些发现确实凸显了对PSF进行更个性化理解以及制定考虑生物、心理和社会因素的治疗策略的必要性。
