Open AccessThe meaning of loneliness to stroke survivors: A qualitative study in Northeast England
Author(s) -
Keming Yang,
Nicole Armstrong,
Clare Diamond,
Alison R. Lane,
Stephen Dunne
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of health psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1461-7277
pISSN - 1359-1053
DOI - 10.1177/13591053211017198
Subject(s) - loneliness , autonomy , stroke (engine) , qualitative research , psychology , meaning (existential) , gerontology , scale (ratio) , medicine , psychiatry , sociology , psychotherapist , mechanical engineering , social science , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law , engineering
This study explored stroke survivors’ experiences of loneliness. Drawing on interviews with 29 community-dwelling stroke survivors living in the Northeast of England, we found several themes: loneliness as being alone, the season or time, lack of understanding from those without any experience of stroke, reduced autonomy, and deterioration of social relations. It is important that healthcare professionals pay attention to the aspects of life that may increase the chances of a stroke survivor becoming lonely after being discharged from hospital, and to measure loneliness in stroke survivors a more valid scale should include items that touch on the aspects reported here.