Introduction: Internet-based interventions are called for within rehabilitation to meet the limited access to support for self-management after stroke. Therefore, a new intervention program, “Strategies for Empowering activities in Everyday life” (SEE) was developed. The aim of this study was to explore and describe how clients with stroke and their occupational therapists experienced the SEE intervention process and whether SEE has the potential to promote an active everyday life.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive case study was designed. Four people with stroke (two of each sex, mean age 66,5 years) and their two occupational therapists (one of each sex) were included. A mix of data collection methods as interviews, assessments, registration forms and fieldnotes was used to uncover the participants’ experiences and potential changes. Data were analysed with pattern matching.

Findings: The analysed data formed three categories: “Not being able to take on the internet-based intervention”, “Being facilitated in the change process of everyday life through the internet-based intervention”, and “Providing a new internet-based intervention is a transition from ordinary practice”. These categories included two to four subcategories that reflected aspects of SEE feasibility and acceptability with a focus on content and delivery.

Conclusion: The first test of the intervention indicates that the content and delivery of SEE can be feasible and acceptable both for clients and occupational therapists. The findings suggest that SEE has the potential to support clients’ self-reflections and their adoption of strategies that influence engagement in daily activities and satisfaction with life in various ways. Further research with large-scale studies is needed.

Background To enable people with stroke to achieve an active everyday life under altered conditions, the development of self-management programs is essential to facilitate the process of change that individuals must undergo. To improve access to self-management, internet-based solutions have been proposed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a novel internet-based intervention, “Strategies for Empowering activities in Everyday Life” (SEE, version 1.0), for clients with stroke.

Methods This feasibility study had a preposttest design without a control group and utilized a mixed-method approach. Data were collected through study-specific forms, outcome assessments, interviews, and field notes. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were subsequently applied.

Results The study involved fifteen clients and staff at clinics in a hospital-based open-care rehabilitation setting. The results indicate that SEE is feasible for clients with stroke. When adopted as expected, SEE has the potential to empower self-management and enhance engagement, balance, and values in everyday activities. The study also indicates that SEE is feasible in terms of adherent delivery of dosage, acceptability, and value, as perceived by clients, occupational therapists, and clinic managers. However, adjustments are needed in the study design, in terms of recruitment strategies, the selection of assessor-based outcome assessment, and the evaluation of adherence. Additionally, the educational program for professionals should be enhanced to better support the implementation of SEE.

Conclusion After the study design, intervention, and educational program are refined, SEE can be prepared for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background

Research is limited about how the introduction of new ways of delivering and conducting occupational therapy, in accordance with expected changes in health care, is experienced by occupational therapists (OTs).

Aim

To explore how OTs experienced use of a new internet-based intervention, ‘Strategies for Empowering activities in Everyday life’ (SEE), focusing on supporting client resources to manage an active everyday life after stroke.

Material and methods

A focus group study with periodical repeated discussion was designed. Four sessions during a period of 22 months were conducted with a total of four OTs.

Result

Overall, the results reflected that the OTs experienced that the use of SEE for persons with stroke was a valuable complement to existing rehabilitation. The process of introducing SEE included a multifaceted transition involving context, intervention process and delivery that renewed occupational therapy.

Conclusion

These results indicate how the use of new internet-based interventions such as SEE can influence and support renewal of occupational therapy that extends beyond the particular intervention. Continued research is needed to explore more aspects of SEE feasibility.

Background: 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 Strategies for Empowering Activities in Everyday Life (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.

Objective: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: The participants’ experiences with the intervention process of SEE formed the core category, conceptualized as The relevance of and readiness for entering a change process in activities of everyday life differ among clients, 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.

Conclusions: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.