title: Capturing the stories behind the numbers: the Auckland Regional Community Stroke Study (ARCOS IV), a qualitative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Qualitative data can add value and understanding to more traditional epidemiological studies. This study was designed to complement the quantitative data from the incidence study the Auckland Regional Community Stroke Study or ARCOS-IV by using qualitative methods to uncover the richer detail of life as a stroke survivor, thereby extending our understanding of the impact of stroke.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aims of the study were to identify how the experience of recovery and adaptation changes over time after stroke; and to elicit the strategies people with stroke and their whānau/family use and find helpful in living life after stroke. The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology and also the challenges and advantages of embedding qualitative research into a large epidemiological study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal study utilizing a Qualitative Description design in a subset of those taking part in the incidence study. Participants will be interviewed at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after stroke. Semistructured interviews will explore three key areas: (1) issues of importance to people following a stroke and their whānau/family; (2) the perceived impact on people's sense of recovery, adaptation, and hopes; and (3) key strategies that people with stroke and their whānau/family use and find most helpful in living life after stroke. Thematic analysis will be conducted using iterative constant comparative methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This methodology paper demonstrates the application of mixed methods in epidemiology. It also considers some of the practical and methodological issues that have emerged and may provide a useful framework for other qualitative projects in population-based studies.
authors.affiliation: Person Centered Rehabilitation Centre, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New , Zealand.
authors.forename: Sandy J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Theadom
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hocking
authors.forename: Valery
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Feigin
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthi
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barker-Collo
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McPherson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017741:Survivors
keywords: adaptive; longitudinal; mixed methods; qualitative; strategies; stroke