University of Central Lancashire
Keywords: Rehabilitation; technology; interviews
Open to: people who have had a stroke within the last 5 years, or have cared for someone that has, and used any form of technology as part of their rehabilitation
Deadline: 30 April 2024
How to apply and ask questions: Please email dare@uclan.ac.uk
Research participation requests are sent to the Stroke Association from external research institutions (e.g. universities and hospitals).
We conduct checks on these before promoting but are not involved in their running. This means we cannot comment on trials and have no affiliation with them.
We want to know about the experiences of people who have used, or tried to use, technologies as part of their rehabilitation after stroke. These technologies include apps for tablets or mobile phones, computer games, robots and telerehabilitation (delivering rehabilitation using video using systems like Teams or zoom).
This will help us understand what works well for people after stroke, and what doesn't, so that new technologies can be designed to be usable and helpful for people living with stroke.
We would like to interview people who have had a stroke within the last 5 years, or have cared for someone that has, and used any form of technology as part of their rehabilitation. During the interview we will ask you about the technology that was used and what you liked or did not like about it. The interviews will be online (using Teams) or, if practical, face to face, and last about an hour.
What is the opportunity about?
This project is about understanding why people who have had a stroke and their caregivers use or don't use technologies during rehabilitation. We want to find out:
- What people think about using these digital tools for rehabilitation.
- If they believe these tools help with their recovery.
- Suggestions for how to make these tools better in the future.
The goals of this project are to:
- Understand what makes people decide to use or not use technologies as part of their recovery after a stroke.
- Support the design of new technologies for rehabilitation after stroke
- Create a guide and toolkit for using digital health tools in stroke rehabilitation.
The results of this project will help make sure that the technologies developed for stroke rehabilitation are useful and more likely to be used to help improve recovery after stroke
What will it Involve?
First, we'll ask you to agree to be part of this study. You can do this online, in writing, or by recording your voice, whichever you prefer. A researcher from UCLan will help you with this. You can ask any questions before you agree.
If you decide to join the study, we'll give you a special number (called a PIN). This number keeps your answers private but lets us know they're from you.
You'll be asked to fill out a short survey about yourself.
Then, we'll ask you to talk with us in an interview about how you used technologies in your recovery.
After the interview, if you want, you can learn about what we found in the study, but you don't have to.
We will ask you for some details to take part in the study -
Consent: When you agree to be part of the study, we'll ask for your name and how to contact you (like your email, phone number, and address). This is to set up and safely do the interview.
Survey: This will tell us about you - your age, gender, location, ethnicity, work status, your stroke and any disabilities as well as how much you use technologies in your everyday life.
Interview: You'll have one interview with a UCLan researcher. We'll talk about what you think of the digital health tools you used. We're interested in why you used them, what made them easy or hard to use, and what you liked or didn't like.
The interview will probably be online using Microsoft Teams or on the telehone. We'll record the interview, either with a secure voice recorder or online.
The interview will last about an hour, and we'll schedule it when it's convenient for you. At the start, we'll double-check that you're okay with participating.
We'll keep the recordings and any notes safe in UCLan's secure storage, and your privacy will be protected by your PIN.
Who can take part?
People can participate in this research if:
- They are over 18 years old
- They had a stroke within the last 5 years, or have cared for someone that has
AND
- they have used any form of technology as part of their rehabilitation either with or recommended by a healthcare professional in the UK
- Can understand what the study involves and agree to take part in the study
What will you get from taking part?
If you take part in the study we will offer you £25, either as a voucher or paid directly into your bank account.
We hope that sharing your experiences of using technology as part of your rehabilitation will be a positive experience for individuals who participate in the study.
The information we get from this study will enable us to provide guidance on how best to design and use technologies for rehabilitation after stroke which we hope will have benefit for people after stroke in the future.
How Can I Take Part?
Please contact the researchers in the DARE team on email - dare@uclan.ac.uk. to find out more and if you would like to take part.
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Information on taking part in research
Research participation helps research teams to test new ideas and approaches by sharing information or trying new approaches in clinical trials.
Find out more about taking part in research
Taking part in clinical trials can support research to:
- Stop strokes from happening.
- Treat strokes.
- Support people to rebuild their lives.
By taking part in research, you can help us to learn more about stroke and make a difference in the lives of future stroke survivors.
Find out about how our research has made a difference in the lives of people affected by stroke.
We have produced the Clinical Trials and Stroke booklet to explain more about clinical trials and answer questions you might have about taking part. The booklet was produced with the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
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Information on Research Involvement
Research Involvement is a different way of contributing to research that involves collaborating with researchers to design decisions about how research is shaped and conducted.
You do not need any research knowledge to do this, your lived experience is what would otherwise be missing. Involvement is about contributing this to shape projects in ways that create most potential to benefit people affected.