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Maintaining Physical Activity After Stroke: Navigating the Transition from Rehabilitation to Everyday Life
Martijn Bakker1,2, Leonie Krops1, Rhoda Schuling2, Johan de Jong2,3, Rienk Dekker1
1: University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Groningen, The Netherlands; 2: School of Sportstudies, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands; 3: Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Background and Purpose Maintaining physical activity (PA) after stroke remains challenging, particularly during the transition from structured rehabilitation to the home environment. While previous studies have identified barriers and facilitators, less is known about how PA is maintained or disrupted over time in everyday life. This study explored how people with stroke and healthcare professionals experience maintaining PA after discharge from rehabilitation.
Methods A qualitative interview study was conducted in the Netherlands. Semi-structured interviews were held with 15 people with stroke living at home and 14 healthcare professionals involved in post-stroke care. Interviews explored experiences of maintaining PA during the transition from rehabilitation to home. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis in collaboration with individuals with lived experience of stroke.
Results Four interrelated themes described how PA maintenance unfolded after stroke. Participants identified the transition from rehabilitation to home as a critical period marked by the loss of externally provided structure and the need to reorganise activity within everyday life. Maintenance was shaped by daily structure, energy management, social and environmental contexts and negotiation of physical limits and capabilities. Across themes, maintaining PA emerged as a dynamic process characterised by periods of disruption, adaptation and re-engagement.
Conclusions Supporting PA after stroke requires attention to daily structure, social embedding and continuity of care beyond discharge. These findings highlight the importance of system-oriented and person-centred strategies to support long-term health-enhancing PA after stroke.
Funding Source: Part of a PhD project funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
