Abstract
Stroke is a common cardiovascular event that can greatly impair cognitive and
adaptive performance. Existing literature suggests that high care strain amongst informal
carers is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Despite this, little is known about how
stroke survivors navigate and experience the post-stroke recovery phase whilst also providing
informal care to a family member. This thesis aimed to determine how informal carers
experience the dual role of stroke and caregiving, including psychosocial and practical
experiences, amongst others. Part one of this portfolio presents a systematic review of the
experiences associated with the intersecting identities of stroke survival and caregiving, along
with identifying possible sources of support. The themes resulting from this review related to:
practical concerns and a sense of being overwhelmed with daily tasks; adapting the identity
post-stroke and recognising relational changes; and post-stroke caring as a help and a
hinderance in stroke recovery. Part two presents an empirical paper that focuses on the
experiences of four adult, stroke-surviving mothers in the UK. They completed detailed,
semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences of intersecting informal care and
stroke recovery. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to identify relevant
group and personal experiential statements. The findings suggested that stroke-surviving
mothers: adaptively use their caring role as a motivator; do not feel that professional services
adequately catered to needs arising from their dual role; and that their experience of stroke
and services had violated their expectations and beliefs around motherhood.
This project initially included a survey, which aimed to capture a more varied set of
views regarding the intersection between caring and stroke survival using a diverse sample.
However, this effort failed to achieve statistical power. Therefore, the survey project has been
summarised in the appendices for part two (for ease of interpretation, this is in Appendix K)