Stroke survivors' and relatives' negotiation of relational and activity changes: A qualitative study.
OBJECTIVE
This study explores stroke survivors' and relatives' negotiation of relational and activity change in their interrelated long-term meaning-making processes of everyday life and what it means for the experience of progress and well-being.


METHODS
Repeated retrospective in-depth interviews were conducted with both the stroke survivor and relatives. A Critical Psychological Perspective gives the frame of reference to study more closely what is going on in and across particular contexts in family members' ongoing social practices.


RESULTS
An asymmetric problematic relationship can develop among the participants in the context of family life. However, the analysis identifies six beneficial relational and activity changes, which contribute to a reciprocal, balanced repositioning, and help the family move in a more positive direction. The repositioning processes facilitate a new transformation of family we-ness, which is important for the participants' experience of process and well-being. The comprehensive family work that has to be done is about managing the imbalance of everyday life, upholding separate activities outside the family sphere and dealing with the fact that peripheral others become more peripheral.


CONCLUSIONS
The study addresses some arguments for taking a family-centred perspective in occupational therapy practice, as well as in a stroke rehabilitation service in general.
a Department of Health and Care Sciences , The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway , Norway ;|b Division of Rehabilitation Services , University Hospital of North Norway , Tromsø , Norway ;
Cathrine
C
Arntzen
c Department of Health and Care Sciences , The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway , Tromsø , Norway.
Torunn
T
Hamran
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation
Everyday life; family perspective; occupational therapy; stroke rehabilitation; stroke survivor and relative relationship