Background/Aims: Aerobic exercise is an important component of stroke rehabilitation, addressing both fitness and secondary prevention goals. However, it is challenging for people after stroke to participate in aerobic exercise, especially those with moderate to severe disability. To facilitate the implementation of aerobic exercise, a deeper understanding of the perspectives of people after stroke with moderate to severe disability is needed.
Methods: Citizen panel methodology; adults with lived experience participated in an online focus group meeting to understand the perspectives of people with stroke when making decisions about participating in aerobic exercise after stroke.
Results: Three male and two female participants from New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia with ages ranging from 47 to 76 years and time post-stroke ranging from 9 months to 12 years attended the online focus group. Main themes identified included those related to the person after stroke (capacity, motivation, and identity) and those related to the healthcare service (resources, and provision of support networks). Many participants expressed feeling like a different person after a stroke and the need to adapt to not being able to exercise in the same way as previously.
Conclusion: Both individual and healthcare service factors were highlighted as barriers and facilitators to engaging in aerobic exercise within stroke rehabilitation and need to be considered during post-stroke aerobic exercise prescription. Future research is needed to optimise the prescription of individually tailored aerobic exercise and consider healthcare service support for uptake and maintenance of exercise training.