Introduction: Following a stroke, an individual may experience physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. For individuals in a marital relationship, the spouse’s life is also impacted post-stroke. The majority of current literature regarding the impact of stroke on marriage focuses on one spouse. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of stroke on the marital dyad.
Method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used for this study. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method as explained by Shosha (2012).
Findings: Four couples, eight participants were included in this study. One main theme emerged as the exhaustive description. Four other themes along with three subthemes were developed that supported this phenomena.
Conclusion: This study found that the daily lives of married couples change drastically post-stroke and it can be difficult for couples to adjust to new ways of life. Occupational therapy can address this adjustment through supporting both the survivor and the caregiver to promote occupational performance and improve the life satisfaction of the couple. These findings also demonstrates a need for an emerging practice area for occupational therapy to address spouses’ new roles as caregiver following a stroke.
","abstract_html":"<p>Introduction: Following a stroke, an individual may experience physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. For individuals in a marital relationship, the spouse’s life is also impacted post-stroke. The majority of current literature regarding the impact of stroke on marriage focuses on one spouse. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of stroke on the marital dyad. </p> <p>Method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used for this study. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method as explained by Shosha (2012). </p> <p>Findings: Four couples, eight participants were included in this study. One main theme emerged as the exhaustive description. Four other themes along with three subthemes were developed that supported this phenomena. </p> <p>Conclusion: This study found that the daily lives of married couples change drastically post-stroke and it can be difficult for couples to adjust to new ways of life. Occupational therapy can address this adjustment through supporting both the survivor and the caregiver to promote occupational performance and improve the life satisfaction of the couple. These findings also demonstrates a need for an emerging practice area for occupational therapy to address spouses’ new roles as caregiver following a stroke. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Arwood, Melissa"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z","subjects":["life satisfaction","marriage","occupational performance","Occupational therapy","stroke","Family, Life Course, and Society"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2020 Melissa Arwood"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/681","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Arwood, Melissa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["life satisfaction","marriage","occupational performance","Occupational therapy","stroke","Family, Life Course, and Society"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2020 Melissa Arwood"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/681"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Introduction: Following a stroke, an individual may experience physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. For individuals in a marital relationship, the spouse’s life is also impacted post-stroke. The majority of current literature regarding the impact of stroke on marriage focuses on one spouse. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of stroke on the marital dyad.
Method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used for this study. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method as explained by Shosha (2012).
Findings: Four couples, eight participants were included in this study. One main theme emerged as the exhaustive description. Four other themes along with three subthemes were developed that supported this phenomena.
Conclusion: This study found that the daily lives of married couples change drastically post-stroke and it can be difficult for couples to adjust to new ways of life. Occupational therapy can address this adjustment through supporting both the survivor and the caregiver to promote occupational performance and improve the life satisfaction of the couple. These findings also demonstrates a need for an emerging practice area for occupational therapy to address spouses’ new roles as caregiver following a stroke.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact Of Stroke On Marriage: Life Satisfaction And Occupational Performance In Daily Life"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Arwood, Melissa"],"dc:description.abstract":["Introduction: Following a stroke, an individual may experience physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. For individuals in a marital relationship, the spouse’s life is also impacted post-stroke. The majority of current literature regarding the impact of stroke on marriage focuses on one spouse. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of stroke on the marital dyad.
Method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used for this study. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method as explained by Shosha (2012).
Findings: Four couples, eight participants were included in this study. One main theme emerged as the exhaustive description. Four other themes along with three subthemes were developed that supported this phenomena.
Conclusion: This study found that the daily lives of married couples change drastically post-stroke and it can be difficult for couples to adjust to new ways of life. Occupational therapy can address this adjustment through supporting both the survivor and the caregiver to promote occupational performance and improve the life satisfaction of the couple. These findings also demonstrates a need for an emerging practice area for occupational therapy to address spouses’ new roles as caregiver following a stroke.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/681"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2020 Melissa Arwood"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["life satisfaction","marriage","occupational performance","Occupational therapy","stroke","Family, Life Course, and Society"],"dc:title":["A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact Of Stroke On Marriage: Life Satisfaction And Occupational Performance In Daily Life"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z"}