Supervised exercise after minor stroke: an evaluation from the perspective of patients and healthcare professionals.

OBJECTIVE

Maintaining long-term physical activity after a stroke is challenging. "The Stroke School", a standardized physical exercise programme, was developed and patients' and healthcare professionals' experiences of participating were explored.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

METHODS

Eight patients with minor stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) completed a feasibility study on The Stroke School intervention in conjunction with their supervising municipal physiotherapists (n = 5). All informants were invited for semi-structured focus-group interviews, during which they were asked to reflect on their experience attending The Stroke School. Audio recordings from 3 focus-group interviews lasting 90 min each were transcribed to text verbatim and analysed with qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

Thirteen informants attended 3 focus-group interviews. Five categories were identified (i-iii representing the patients' perspective and iv-v the physiotherapists' perspectives): (i) window of opportunity, (ii) benefits of participating in the study, (iii) strengths and pitfalls of transitioning from the hospital to the municipalities, (iv) effective communication across sectors, and (v) empowering patients to continue exercising independently.

CONCLUSION

The Stroke School intervention was feasible, provided patient safety throughout the study, and resulted in effective communication and collaboration across sectors. However, identifying factors that facilitate life-long exercise behaviour changes is still warranted.