Background: Exercise participation, on returning home after stroke, can assist with continuing functional recovery as well as providing a structured way to increase physical activity levels. Both are important for overall health. Despite this, exercise participation and physical activity levels remain low for people after stroke. A carer-supported program, delivered in the home, may address some of the barriers stroke survivors face to ongoing exercise participation.
Aims: To investigate the acceptability of carer-supported home-based exercise, to inform development of a future program.
Methods: The acceptability questionnaire was developed using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability and delivered online to people after stroke and carers. It covered the domains of; affective attitude, burden, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, perceived effectiveness and self-efficacy.
Results: Responses were received from 26 people after stroke and 12 carers. The respondents provided details of preferred features of a home-based, carer-supported exercise program. The majority reported this type of program would fit with their own values (n=23, 88.5% of people after stroke; n=12, 100% of carers) and felt it would have a perceived benefit (n=21, 80.8% of people after stroke; n=11, 91.7% of carers). A large number of participants reported they would be able to complete this type of program (n=22, 84.6% of people after stroke; n=10, 83.3% of carers). Only 3 participants (all carers) reported a perceived significant cost to them, related to potentially needing to take time off work to implement this type of program.
Conclusion: The majority of participants in both groups reported positively on this type of program, indicating it would be an acceptable option for increasing exercise and physical activity participation. Attributes of this program warrant further exploration as an option for increasing exercise participation for people after stroke living at home.