“I’m still the person!”: experiences, barriers and facilitators relating to returning to work with post-stroke communication disorders

This study explored the experiences and perceptions of people with post-stroke communication disorders who had attempted or were attempting to return to work. Eleven participants (4 male, 7 female, mean age 57.7 ± 6.36 years) who were an average of 6.55 (±6.14) months post-stroke took part in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were generated. These were: (i) the reality of planning and actualising a return to work at different time-points during stroke recovery; (ii) intrapersonal barriers, including communication and cognitive impairments; (iii) external barriers, including lack of information or advice from healthcare professionals and lack of support or understanding from employers; (iv) intrapersonal facilitators, including personal attributes and use of strategies; and (v) external facilitators, including support from individual healthcare professionals, employers, colleagues and peers. Returning to work with post-stroke communication disorders can be a challenging journey, with a number of potential barriers and facilitators. One of the major barriers is a lack of specialist and/or cohesive support for people with post-stroke communication disorders who wish to return to work. There is therefore a need for interventions designed specifically to facilitate return to work for this group. People with post-stroke communication disorders who wish to return to work should have access to timely specialist supportHealthcare professionals should be involved throughout the journey of returning to work for people with post-stroke communication disorders, focussing rehabilitation to meet job requirements.Healthcare professionals should liaise with employers and advise on necessary workplace support for people with post-stroke communication disorders People with post-stroke communication disorders who wish to return to work should have access to timely specialist support Healthcare professionals should be involved throughout the journey of returning to work for people with post-stroke communication disorders, focussing rehabilitation to meet job requirements. Healthcare professionals should liaise with employers and advise on necessary workplace support for people with post-stroke communication disorders