Abstract
Acute stroke has received considerable research and clinical attention, with the aim of maximizing physical functioning and associated participation in activities of daily living in stroke victims. Yet many people who have had a stroke continue to experience ongoing cognitive and physical disabilities, as well as long-term impacts on social participation. These chronic effects lead to reduced social network size and significantly heightened social isolation. Based upon ethnographic research with 20 Australian men and women who had experienced stroke in the past 1–5 years (chronic stroke), notable differences were found in the reported well-being of participants with spouses compared to those without. Those with a spouse described how “journeying together” in life post-stroke significantly influenced their life satisfaction: they felt socially isolated, but not alone. In contrast, those who did not have a partner highlighted their loneliness as a form of social suffering. These participants innovated to address their social isolation and, in doing so, alleviated their suffering. In this chapter, we explore these differing accounts and highlight the importance of social inclusion in the long-term recovery from stroke.
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Warren, N., Ayton, D. (2015). Loneliness as Social Suffering: Social Participation, Quality of Life, and Chronic Stroke. In: Anderson, R. (eds) World Suffering and Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 56. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9670-5_13
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