Awareness and Perception about the Stroke and Post Stroke Physiotherapy among Stroke Survivors - A Qualitative Study from Western India

Purpose: Stroke is one of the major causes of disability and death globally. Treatment approach to stroke patients is multidisciplinary, and physiotherapy plays an important role in reducing the disabilities among stroke survivors. The present study aims to know the awareness and perception about stroke and the importance of physiotherapy in stroke rehabilitation among stroke survivors. Material and Methods: A qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussion (FGD) among patients with stroke. A total of 12 patients, suffering from stroke were enrolled for the study after obtaining written informed consent. The study was conducted at two different settings of a tertiary care hospital in western India. Patients diagnosed with stroke and willing to participate were included, while those with severe cognitive impairment or communication difficulties were excluded. Two FGD sessions with six patients in each were conducted with the help of a self-structured questionnaire covering the key areas of research question. The discussion was audio/video graphed and the verbatim was narrated for the analysis. Results: The participants varied in age, gender, duration since stroke, and level of functional dependence. The results were analyzed by thematic analysis, which shows significant lack of awareness about the disease, its warning signs and risk factors/causes among stroke survivors. Very few (41.67%) patients were aware about the term “stroke” and opted for physiotherapy, and almost all the patients had significant psychological insult post stroke. Conclusion: The present study reflects significant lack of knowledge about the disease and disease process, including its causes, warning signs, etc., among stroke survivors. Though majority of patients were referred for physiotherapy treatment after stroke, many of them did not opt for the same due to various reasons. This reflects that the health care providers and/or various g32overnment agencies should work at various levels of health care delivery to bridge these lacunae and to provide effective multidisciplinary care to the stroke survivors. Keywords: Focusgroup,Stroke,Rehabilitation,Physiotherapy, Awareness, Perception.