Dirske van Schalkwyk, W (2007) The essence of stroke rehabilitation experience across two settings. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

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Abstract

The present research used van Manen's application of hermeneutic phenomenology as philosophy and method to explore stroke rehabilitation experience across two different settings, i.e. (i) a conventional setting (National Health Service or NHS stroke unit) and (ii) an unconventional setting (Conductive Education or CE). Interviews, observations and reflective diaries were used to collect data on 24 volunteering stroke patients' experiences. High levels of dis empowerment and negative images of self as well as the nature of motivation were indicated to be thematic of stroke rehabilitation experience in the stroke unit. In the CE setting stroke rehabilitation experience was characterised by increased selfconfidence, unconditional positive regard from conductors, challenging activities and body-half integration. A juxtaposition of stroke rehabilitation experience in the CE setting with stroke rehabilitation experience in the NHS stroke unit brought to light an important difference between the physical body-split caused by stroke, and a much wider and deeper disintegration of being. The juxtaposition further indicated that (i) the approach used in the NHS stroke unit is biomedical in spite of the presence of a multi-disciplinary team, and (ii) that the one adopted by CE is a person-centred approach characterised by holistic principles, with an overall focus on mobility. A reflective evaluation of this hermeneutic phenomenological study ensues, including a discussion on the difference between person-centredness and holism. The better understanding gained regarding stroke rehabilitation experience across the two settings was then used to make recommendations regarding what could constitute a holistic approach to stroke rehabilitation. Finally, the researcher's experience of 'being-immersed' in others' lived experiences was discussed in order to illustrate the holistic effect the research process had on the researcher's well-being, and the development of a tool which addresses researcher emotions holistically is also presented.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RT Nursing
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Date Deposited:	09 Mar 2017 10:57
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2021 23:30
DOI or ID number:	10.24377/LJMU.t.00005828
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5828

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