Family Adaptation to Altered Roles following a Stroke

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of a stroke on the roles of people who experienced a stroke and their partners, focusing on the relationship between the environment and role performance. Ethnographic research methods were used to discover the ways in which the meaning and content of roles are shaped within the context of social relationships. Suggestions are offered regarding questions occupational therapists can ask to assess family role structure, the effect of disability on family roles and the influence of the social and physical environment on family roles.