Exploring the concept of fatigue/tiredness in adults with stroke and healthy adults

Fatigue and tiredness after stroke is a commonly reported symptom, although early after stroke people often struggle to understand the term when asked to self-rate their experience. While researchers seek to measure the mechanisms of fatigue, and have developed clinical rating tools, the construct is often poorly understood in the clinic. Understanding the perception of symptoms such as fatigue, for which there is no observational measure, is vital for guiding treatment decisions. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to explore fatigue in adults with stroke inductively, and to compare the reported experiences of fatigue/tiredness of healthy individuals with those of adults who have experienced a stroke to identify terms to explain stroke-related fatigue/tiredness and its related concepts. We anticipate that this study will shed light on the most predominant experiences of those who survive stroke, potentially in terms of symptoms, treatment-attributed side effects and their functional impacts on key roles such as driving and return to life activities including work. A qualitative research strategy will be used. The student will undertake semi-structured qualitative interviews about fatigue symptoms and their impacts with an estimated 15 adults with stroke (early and more chronic) and 15 healthy individuals. All participants will also be asked to rate the bothersomeness of any experienced fatigue/tiredness symptoms and impacts. Data will be inductively coded to co-design a definition of post-stroke fatigue that may assist with symptom monitoring in the future.