AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF STROKE SURVIVOR’S PARTICIPATION IN LEISURE ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY

Abstract

Background: Increasing developments in acute stroke treatment and care has led to a growing number of people surviving stroke and returning to the community (Brewer et al. 2012; NICE 2019). The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT 2019) aim to support this by increasing their focus on the role of occupational therapists supporting people in the community. Leisure, according to RCOT (2019) is an occupation essential to people’s day to day lives. However, literature reveals the complexities of leisure and occupational therapists limited focus on the occupation of leisure in the community. Leisure is not context-less particularly in the community where it is performed in both physical, structural and social contexts. Thus, leisure is exposed to both the facilitators and barriers of the environment where activities take place. The literature suggests performance, satisfaction and frequency of leisure activity decreases post stroke, however, can increase with participation in leisure programs in the community. While demonstrating the potential positive effects of programs focussing on leisure, the benefits in terms of the true meaning and value of leisure participation in the community from the experiences of stroke survivors is unclear. Aim: The aim of the research is to explore stroke survivor’s experiences of participation in leisure activities in the community. Methods: Ethnography is proposed to immerse in the lives of stroke survivors, exploring and capturing the multiple subjective realities and interpretations of their experiences with rich description. Participants referred to a community occupational therapy team will be recruited. The researcher will collect data by observing, using unstructured interviews and fieldnotes. The researcher naturally begins to make sense of the information and reflect whilst collecting data and thus, begins analysis in the field. Expected outcomes: It is expected that the research will provide a greater depth of insight into leisure participation in the community from stroke survivors experiences. Findings are intended to highlight the needs of stroke survivors related to participation in leisure in the community.