Community Integration for Stroke Survivors Purpose: Many Stroke Survivors (SSs) have both the potential and the desire to resume involvement in family and community activities post stroke; yet they do not do so. This resumption of activities is called community integration. Although it is has been found that many SSs fail to reach their potential levels of community integration post-stroke, little research has identified factors that enhance this integration. The purpose of this study was to identify facilitators of community integration. Conceptual Framework: The Enablement Model of Willer, Button and Corrigan (1997), which describes the relationship between supports and community integration, served as the study's framework. Subjects: 12 SS and primary caregiver dyads (N=24 individuals) participated in this study. Method: In this grounded theory, qualitative research design study participants were interviewed concurrently and independently. The interview protocol, developed by researchers from nursing, health communication, and rehabilitation, addressed stroke-related challenges, compensatory strategies, and resources. Interviews, lasting 60 - 90 minutes, were audio-taped and transcribed. Data analysis consisted of open, axial, and selective coding. The master coding scheme was continuously revised through a process of constant comparison of new data to emerging categories. Transcripts were-re-analyzed to reflect coding revisions. Results: Facilitators of community integration included formal external resources (healthcare providers and support groups), informal external resources (family and friends), and internal resources (patience, motivation, positivity, and humor). Successful integration was found to be less dependent on severity of disability than availability of resources. Conclusions: The finding that external resources activated internal resources which in turn reinforced external resources led researchers to develop the Reciprocal Model of Community Integration. Because these three types of resources are reciprocally linked, nursing interventions targeted at any of these points may enhance community integration. It is anticipated that activating several resources at once can further strengthen integration.
Session #1179 - Community Health
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)