Objectives and brief methodology
Background
Aphasia is a condition which may affect stroke survivors’ ability to speak, understand speech, read or write. Aphasia often has a substantial impact on daily life, making it difficult for stroke survivors and their families to manage. A specially designed support programme (known as a ‘self-management intervention’) may help. The programme involves one-to-one support from a speech and language therapist to help stroke survivors and their families develop strategies and confidence to cope with aphasia in everyday situations. With development and testing, this programme has the potential to support survivors with aphasia and their families to adjust to and manage life after stroke.
Aims & Objectives
To refine and feasibility test a supported self-management intervention for stroke survivors with aphasia and their families.
Methods
What will happen during the research?
Stage One: Development using methods of co-production
We will finalise what the support programme will look like by meeting together with stroke survivors with aphasia, their family members and speech and language therapists over the course of 6 months. This will include developing accessible written materials for the programme and training for speech and language therapists.
Stage Two: Feasibility testing
We will test whether the support programme can be delivered in two community services with 30 stroke survivors with aphasia and their families (who are less than six months post-stroke). Participants (stroke survivors with aphasia, their families) and those facilitating the approach (speech and language therapists) will be interviewed to see if they found the programme to be acceptable and whether there were any unforeseen problems. We will also evaluate recruitment and retention rates and the feasibility of outcome measures.
Funding agency
The Stroke Association SA PDF 19\100011
Further information
Collaborators:
List of investigators: Dr Faye Wray, Professor Anne Forster, Dr Madeline Cruice, City University of London
Funding: £174,999.60
Timescale: 16/09/2019 – 15/09/2021
For more information please contact:
Dr Faye Wray at: f.d.wray@leeds.ac.uk