Attitudes of healthcare professionals towards self-management for patients with stroke

ML Roberts Prize Winner

Abstract

Self-management approaches towards stroke rehabilitation are gaining more attention due to emerging evidence of their impact on patient outcomes. This mixed methods study explored the attitudes of healthcare professionals (HCPs) towards stroke self-management. The Bridges Stroke Self-Management Programme (Bridges SSMP) training was delivered to 51 HCPs in New Zealand. Questionnaires were completed by consenting participants (n = 43) prior to administration of the Bridges SSMP training. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three participants. The General Inductive Approach was used for thematic analysis of the qualitative data. The resulting overarching theme was “integrating the self-management concept into practice”, which encompasses organisational, contextual and individual factors that HCPs feel are challenges when applying self-management. Two contributors to this theme – “education” and “facilitating empowerment” – emerged as barriers or enablers, respectively, to putting self-management into practice. Questionnaire data showed HCPs were confident in their capability of self management concepts yet did not frequently use them in practice. Healthcare professionals were mostly positive about the concept of self-management but challenges and barriers were evident when applying this to practice. Hence, they may require a deeper understanding of the principles of self-management and become more familiar with the process by applying the principles of self-management in their own lives.