Life satisfaction in persons with severe stroke – A longitudinal report from the Sunnaas International Network (SIN) stroke study

Abstract

Introduction: The overall aim of the present study was to explore perceived life satisfaction in persons with stroke, from admission to specialised rehabilitation until follow up 1 year post-discharge. The secondary aim was to evaluate possible external and internal explanatory factors for perceived life satisfaction. Patients and methods: A prospective, descriptive study of specialised rehabilitation of persons with stroke. Persons with a primary diagnosis of stroke were enrolled in the study. Results: Overall, total score on LiSat-11 showed that life was perceived as satisfying by 11% on admission, 21% at discharge, 25% at 6 and 31% at 12 months after discharge from rehabilitation, reported by 230 participating persons with stroke. Repeated measurement indicated significant differences of total life satisfaction between clinics, also when controlled for disability and severity. The items ''sexual life,'' ''health,'' and ''vocational life''/''financial'' were most dissatisfying at the various reported time points. The linear regression analysis revealed an equal amount of internal and external explanatory factors at the different time points, explaining between 16% and 41% of the variations. Discussion and conclusion: The perceived life satisfaction was reported as low/dissatisfying at the four stated time points in all the participating clinics. Four items were especially vulnerable post-stroke: vocational situation, sexual life, physical health and mental health. Both internal and external factors contributed to life satisfaction, such as gender, severity of stroke, marital status, country, models of rehabilitation, occupational status, length of stay (LOS), number of therapies and hours in therapy. However, there were significant differences between clinics, indicating that unidentified factors may also influence life satisfaction.

Sexual health policies in stroke rehabilitation: A multi national study

“…There is a high preva lence of sexual problems and dysfunction among stroke survivors and their partners (7)(8)(9). A previous multina tional study, conducted within the same research net work as the present study, found that patients reported their sexual life to be one of the most dissatisfactory areas in life (10,11), confirming the need for sexual rehabilitation after stroke. Patients often do not raise questions about sexuality as they feel embarrassed, and those patients may want their healthcare providers to raise the topic (12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Effects of modified 8‐week reminiscence therapy on the older spouse caregivers of stroke survivors in Chinese communities: A randomized controlled trial

“…Family caregivers of stroke survivors experience a heavy burden and a low life satisfaction . The heavy burden of caregiver not only affects caregivers' physical and psychological health, life satisfaction, and quality of life but also determines the quality of caring and quality of life for stroke survivors .…”

Test-retest reliability of the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11) and association between items in individuals with chronic stroke

“…LiSat is frequently used to assess life satisfaction in studies of persons with stroke (5,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Despite this, there is limited knowledge about the reliability of LiSat.…”