The Internet-Based Intervention Strategies for Empowering Activities in Everyday Life: Qualitative Study of Experiences of Clients With Stroke (Preprint)

Abstract

There is a need to enhance access to and support for self-management of activities in everyday life after a stroke. Internet-based solutions have the potential to contribute to this development. Consequently, an internet-based intervention called <i>Strategies for Empowering Activities in Everyday Life</i> (SEE) was developed. The intervention aims to assist clients in developing management strategies that promote a healthy distribution and balanced engagement in various activities performed in different places and with other people. To further support the development and feasibility of this intervention, more knowledge is needed about clients’ experiences during the intervention process.

This study aims to explore and describe how clients with stroke experienced the SEE intervention process and whether participation in SEE influenced their experience of everyday life.

Overall, 9 clients with stroke who received SEE participated in the study—4 (44%) women and 5 (56%) men aged 37 to 73 years. Qualitative interviews about experiences with SEE were conducted twice during the intervention process with each participant. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory.

The participants’ experiences with the intervention process of SEE formed the core category, conceptualized as <i>The relevance of and readiness for entering a change process in activities of everyday life differ among clients</i>, constituting of two main categories: (1) an eye-opener providing agency for a change process and (2) never beginning a change process in activities in everyday life. The results showed that the relevance of and readiness for SEE differed between the participants. The experiences of 78% (7/9) of the participants reflected that the intervention process provided them with an agency to drive their own change process for activities in everyday life to promote health. Overall, 22% (2/9) of the participants refrained from entering a change process during SEE as they did not recognize any need for changes in their activities. When SEE was relevant and adopted as expected, the participants described it as an eye-opener for how they can alter their health based on how they distribute and spend their time on various activities.

SEE has the potential to support clients’ development of self-management and to take an active role in influencing their engagement in activities in everyday life and health. This study identified necessary improvements in the educational program for professionals to enhance delivery and strengthen the therapeutic mechanisms of SEE for future research. To effectively implement internet-based interventions such as SEE, it is crucial to identify clients who express a need for self-management in activities and are ready to invest the effort required to adopt a change process. Furthermore, it is indicated that participants’ self-analysis of their everyday activities empowers them to adopt new self-management strategies, which can also benefit other interventions.