The National Survey of Stroke Survivors in Ireland Report was launched today at the National Disability Authority.

The study was led by researchers from the RCSI School of Physiotherapy (Dr Frances Horgan, Mary Walsh) and HRB Centre for Primary Care Research (Dr Rose Galvin) and Irish Heart Foundation (Chris Macey and Cliona Loughnane).

Approximately 11,000 people experience a stroke each year in the Republic of Ireland (Irish Heart Foundation, 2012).

This research project aimed to describe the experiences and needs of people who have returned to live in the community after experiencing a stroke. The research was funded under the National Disability Authority's Research Promotion Grant Scheme. Almost 200 people responded to the survey.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Frances Horgan (PI) highlighted that: “Stroke was found to have a personal, social and economic impact, and there were challenges that affected return to independence.”

Successful return to work levels after stroke were low. The vast majority of survey respondents experienced emotional distress and fatigue at some time since their stroke. Over half of the people who experienced these problems said that they received none or very little treatment for this. Half of respondents needed help with personal care after the stroke. Families provided much of this help.

More than half of the respondents reported that their finances had been affected by their stroke as income had decreased but spending had increased, One third of respondents reported paying privately for services such as physiotherapy or speech and language therapy, which proved expensive.

The launch coincides with the start of Stroke Awareness Week taking place from 7-11 April 2014.