Understanding the experiences of unpaid care givers before and after having a Stroke (Female stroke survivors only)

Stroke research
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Research participation requests are sent to the Stroke Association from external research institutions (e.g. universities and hospitals), which we post on My Stroke Guide.

We conduct basic checks on these before promoting but are not involved in their running. This means we cannot comment on trials and have no affiliation with them.

A Trainee Clinical Psychologist from the University of Surrey would like to hear about the experiences of female stroke survivors with experience of providing unpaid care for a family member before and after their stroke.

They hope that your answers to our online survey will give a better understanding of what it is like to live with these circumstances and improve services to support carers like you in future.

Keywords

Unpaid care; female stroke survivors; online survey; service improvement

What is the study about?

Very little is known about what it is like to continue to care for a family member after a stroke. Our hope is that hearing about your experiences will give us a better understanding of what it is like to live with these circumstances.

We hope that this will help services to better assess and meet the needs of carers like you.

What will it Involve?

This study involves completing an online survey, which takes between 10 and 20 minutes to complete.

Use the link or QR code to access this survey:

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https://surreyfahs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ah15kbNQiRnnzRs

Who can take part?

We are looking for adult women living in the UK.

You will need to be a stroke survivor and providing at least 5 hours of unpaid care per week for a family member.

You will need to have had your stroke at least 12 months ago and have been providing care for at least 12 months before your stroke.

We’re particularly keen to hear from women who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community or other minoritised groups!

How can I ask any questions?

If you would like to find out more information about this doctoral research project, email:

Catherine McGoldrick (Trainee Clinical Psychologist): c.mcgoldrick@surrey.ac.uk

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Does this mean the catchment includes all stroke survivors who are mothers ?

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Hi @SimonInEdinburgh,

Thanks for the question, I asked the researcher Katie for a clarification and the answer is a yes, she’d liove to hear from mothers. Here’s her full reply:

"What a wonderful question, thanks for getting in touch. Any kind of care is absolutely fine- this might mean cooking meals, helping someone get to appointments, to clean, etc.

The activities associated with caring for someone else can be really varied and differ depending on the family’s situation. The main purpose of the research is to find out what it’s like to care for someone else whilst undergoing your own stroke recovery journey.

I’m happy to hear from mothers- whether they’re currently caring for a child, or if they’re reflecting on a previous experience!"

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Then she’s just opened her field of research to very many participants in this forum and indeed other forums…