Platform Presentation The Joint Annual Meeting of the Stroke Society of Australasia (SSA) and Smartstrokes 2023

Evidence-Based Information Provision to Carers of Survivors of Stroke? Exploring how Information is Provided to Carers during Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation. (#106)

Elizabeth Lynch 1 , Jessica Nolan 2 , Lemma Bulto 1 , John Mitchell 3 , Annette McGrath 3 , Simon Lane 3 , Gillian Harvey 1 , Dominique A Cadilhac 4 , Rachel Harling 5 , Erin Godecke 6
  1. Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
  2. University of Notre Dame, Fremantle
  3. Lived Experience Contributor, Adelaide
  4. Monash University, Melbourne
  5. Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide
  6. Edith Cowan University, Perth

Background

Carers of survivors of stroke report struggling to find the information they need, which can have a negative impact on their ability and confidence to support the person with stroke.  Adult learning principles provide guidance on how to create learning encounters that enhance an individual’s ability to understand, remember and use information.  

Aim

To explore how health professionals provide information to carers during inpatient stroke rehabilitation and whether these practices align with adult learning principles.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with carers and people with stroke who had completed inpatient rehabilitation, and health professionals working in inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Directed qualitative content analysis using two adult learning models to determine how closely reported practices aligned to adult learning principles. 

Results

12 carers, 5 survivors of stroke and 17 health professionals participated. Carers (92% female, 50% spouse/partner) reported having incomplete knowledge during rehabilitation, lacking information about mechanisms of stroke recovery, rehabilitation processes, long-term effects of stroke, and navigating post-discharge services. Carers reported struggling to take in information early after stroke. Carers’ self-directed actions, such as identifying what information they wanted, approaching staff with questions and asking to attend therapy sessions, largely fulfilled previously described “learner roles”.  Health professionals applied adult learning principles to support carers to address their information needs in one particular field: safety in caring for survivors of stroke. In contrast, when information needs were identified by carers, health professionals routinely provided written or verbal information, but this was usually provided only once, carers’ understanding of the information was not checked, and carers were not invited to discuss the presented information.

Conclusions

Adult learning principles are not routinely applied by health professionals when providing information to carers during inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Strategies that foster adult learning may improve preparedness of carers to support stroke survivors after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.