LAUSR

Background and Purpose: Studies have reported that young stroke survivors often encountered challenges in supporting themselves or their family financially and socially. One of their priorities in rehabilitation was returning to work. The purpose of this study was to explore young adults’ experiences of returning to work after stroke. Methods: A qualitative study with face-to-face semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation was conducted. Community-dwelling adults who had a first-ever or recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke at an age between 18 and 64 years were recruited from the community organisations or stroke support groups. All participants were asked to share their experiences of, and perceived barriers to and facilitators of returning to work after stroke. Non-participant observation for one day about the participants’ daily work was conducted. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis. The field notes obtained from observation was categorised to explain the interview data. Results: A total of 19 participants (mean age 58.6 years, SD 8.63) were interviewed. Five key themes were generated: (1) Capability to return to work was integral as it defined their identity and existence in the society, (2) Support from family members, colleagues and employers were key factors to their successful experience of returning to work, (3) Learning to learn new skills to assume pre-stroke or new work roles was difficult but integral to adapt to their physical and psychosocial challenges, (4) Age-appropriate services to support young stroke survivors to pursue employment opportunities was inadequate, and (5) Engagement in household works or valued everyday activities would be feasible to build social or work skills and motivation to prepare them for returning to work. Conclusions: The findings supported that the young stroke survivors had a strong need for returning to work to unleash their potentials and continue their contributions to the society. More age-appropriate services are needed to enhance their capability to learn new skills to assume their pre-stroke or new employment opportunities.