Quality of Life Following Stroke: Negotiating Disability, Identity, and Resources

Residual physical and cognitive impairments following a stroke can pose a significant threat to a survivor’s quality of life. Yet, there is not always a direct one-to-one correlation between functional disability and subjective quality of life. This research investigated the complexity of factors that influence quality of life after stroke, using qualitative interviews. Results indicate that a stroke has a significant impact on the quality of life of survivors, but some individuals find ways to adapt to their functional disabilities and report a high quality of life. Common elements of this process consist of reordering priorities to focus on those activities considered most salient to an individual’s identity; then drawing on existing resources, including health services and social supports, to maintain a customary activity, even in a modified form, retaining salient aspects of the individual’s identity and maintaining a sense of continuity in his or her life.