Development of an Accessible Loneliness Intervention for People with Aphasia and other Post-Stroke Communication Difficulties - Loneliness (perceived social isolation) is a serious and growing public health problem. Stroke survivors are at increased risk for developing loneliness and the multiple physiological and psychosocial problems that are associated with it. When a person has additional communication problems such as aphasia, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria, the risk may be increased and the associated problems exacerbated. To date, few studies have addressed loneliness in stroke survivors with communication difficulties and interventions to mitigate the effects of loneliness and improve health, function, and community participation in this population are scarce. Objectives of this “proof of product” development study are to (1) conduct a series of focus groups and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders to better understand the experience of loneliness, identify various factors that contribute to loneliness in this population, and gain input about a potential intervention; (2) develop a theoretically grounded intervention for loneliness and iteratively refine the intervention by testing it with persons with stroke-related communication difficulties; (3) assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention prototype to ensure all technical requirements are met; 4) test potential outcome measures to determine their suitability for a future early efficacy study; and (5) develop training materials to ensure that new users of the intervention are likely to adopt the intervention Throughout the project, we incorporate feedback from key stakeholders. Anticipated outcomes include feasibility, acceptability and accessibility for persons with stroke-related communication disabilities. The product of this grant, a treatment prototype addressing loneliness, may also benefit individuals with other neurological communication deficits who are lonely, and ultimately improve their community participation.
