When stroke strikes.

Almost half a million Australians are living with the effects of stroke, a health condition that attacks the brain and changes lives in an instant.

Stroke can happen to anyone of any age. Not only does it affect the survivor with damage to areas of the brain that can affect how they talk, swallow, see, feel, touch and move, it can also upend the lives of those around them.

Flinders researcher and physiotherapist Dr Elizabeth Lynch is investigating how to better support and upskill people who are transitioning to the role of an informal carer of someone who has suffered a stroke.

“Sometimes the stroke patient fully recovers but in others, the shift in the relationship between them and their loved one can be really confronting,” she says.

“Some couples go from being an equal partnership to only one person becoming the breadwinner and the other on a disability pension.

“Those sort of changes in the relationship can be really tough and tricky to navigate for both people.”

Alongside her team at the Flinders Caring Futures Institute, Dr Lynch is working with stroke survivors, support people and health professionals to develop new resources to help people cope with the often overwhelming and emotional load of caring for a stroke survivor.

The project is also aiming to improve systems within hospitals to better provide information to patients and their families.

Informal carers of stroke survivors can be parents, husbands, wives, partners, friends or family members. In an instant they can be forced to make decisions for their loved one around medical procedures, returning to work, organising finances, booking rehabilitation services and appointments or, in some cases, organising aged care services.

In a project funded by national charity organisation Stroke Foundation, Dr Lynch has developed a suite of resources including an online training module and videos of carers’ stories that share an insight into other people’s experiences and what to expect with their own.

The resources are currently being trialled at two hospitals, one in Adelaide and another in Perth, providing carers with access to correct and timely information.

Dr Lynch’s research also involves working with healthcare teams and hospital staff to improve how information is provided to patients and their families.