Well-being, sense of coherence, and burnout in stroke victims and spouses during the first few months after stroke

Ten stroke victims, who had recently suffered their first manifest stroke w ith lasting neurological symptoms, participated, together with their spouse s, in a study aimed at elucidating the well-being, sense of coherence (SOC) , and burnout during the first few months after discharge. The stroke victims had no substantial speech disturbances, and showed no ev idence of significant cognitive impairment, signifying they were mildly to moderately impaired by their stroke. All subjects were investigated at 1 an d 3 months after homecoming. The methods used in this study were open-ended interviews with all research participants, performed at two different appo intments, and three self-reporting questionnaires: the well-being measure ( WM), the SOC scale, and the burnout measure (BM). The instruments suit each other well, broaden the picture of living with stroke and give an attuned comprehensive understanding. The most striking finding was the substantial differences in the results, both regarding the stroke victims and their spo uses, clearly indicating the limited value current generalizations have. Th e results also pointed to considerable distress both in stroke victims and spouses, although individuals with a weak SOC clearly displayed more diffic ulties in coping with the situation and risk of burnout, than did those wit h a strong SOC.