World Stroke Day Awareness
Share this video with others to encourage Stroke Awareness!
Our brain is in charge of most things in our body, including our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When someone experiences a stroke, it can affect parts of the brain that control our mood and behavior so that they no longer work as they used to before the stroke. That is why those who have had a stroke often struggle with common mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation, during and after their recovery. In general, we call these concerns Post-Stroke Psychosocial Stress.
Post-stroke, when patients do not get treatment for post-stroke psychosocial stress, it can take longer for them to feel better during their recovery. This can have a negative effect on survivors’ quality of life as well, which in turn can worsen the post-stroke psychosocial stress. Add to this the fact that when these patients discharge directly home from the hospital without additional supportive services they are only able to receive care from family members, spouses, and loved ones, whom we call informal caregivers. Because informal caregivers usually don’t have any medical training, they can feel overwhelmed and develop caregiver burden and psychosocial stress. Increased caregiver burden can affect the informal caregiver’s ability to help those who have had a stroke through their recovery. This means that both the patient and their informal caregiver’s psychosocial stress can increase, which can also make recovery more difficult.
Fortunately, there are helpful therapies and supports for those who have had a stroke and their informal caregivers. Receiving these kinds of supports can improve the post-stroke recovery process and quality of care for their loved ones by reducing post-stroke psychosocial stress.
The Mental Health Program focuses on developing behavioral interventions, supports, and therapies for this crucial post-stroke period. We are interested in learning about how the interventions can improve post-stroke psychosocial stress so that we can improve the education and support services for those who have had a stroke and their informal caregivers in our communities.
If you have experienced a recent stroke and are struggling with depression, our ongoing research study may be able to assist you. If you qualify you can expect a no cost MRI and PET scan, a free mental health evaluation, and a referral to a mental health provider.
To learn more contact Susan Atwood, DPT at +1 (713) 500-8203 or email [email protected]
Share this video with others to encourage Stroke Awareness!
The stroke institute holds a monthly mental health program meeting every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 4 PM CST on TEAMS to discuss current projects related to stroke and mental wellness and ideas for future projects. Interested in joining? Email Dr. Jennifer Beauchamp at [email protected].
Beauchamp, J. E. S., Sharrief, A., Chaoul, A., Casameni Montiel, T., Love, M. F., Cron, S., Prossin, A., Selvaraj, S., Dishman, D., & Savitz, S. I. (2023). Feasibility of a meditation intervention for stroke survivors and informal caregivers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC psychology, 11(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-01031-z
Denny, M. C., Ancer Leal, A., Montiel, T. C., Wynne, K. J., Edquilang, G., Vu, K. Y. T., Vahidy, F., Savitz, S. I., Beauchamp, J. E., & Sharrief, A. (2023). An Intervention Mapping Approach to Developing a Stroke Literacy Video for Recent Stroke Survivors: Development and Usability Study. JMIR formative research, 7, e31903. https://doi.org/10.2196/31903
Fadipe, M. F., Aggarwal, S., Johnson, C., & Beauchamp, J. E. S. (2023). Effectiveness of online cognitive behavioural therapy on quality of life in adults with depression: A systematic review. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 10.1111/jpm.12924. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12924
Varughese, T., Casameni Montiel, T., Engebretson, J., Savitz, S. I., Sharrief, A., & Beauchamp, J. E. S. (2022). A Person-Centered Approach Understanding Stroke Survivor and Family Caregiver Emotional Health. The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, 54(2), 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1097/JNN.0000000000000640
Beauchamp, J. E. S., Villarreal, Y., Ancer Leal, A., Savitz, S. I., & Sharrief, A. (2022). Reflections on Obstacles to Stroke Awareness in Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Populations: Lost in Translation. The Journal of Neuroscience Nursing: Journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, 54(6), 228-230. DOI: 10.1097/JNN.0000000000000674.
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The UTSHB Consortium is a UT System Administration initiative designed to improve the health of Texans by providing a standardized biospecimen/related data search and request mechanism for UT personnel at participating institutions. Mental health data is available with appropriate approvals. Find out more at: https://www.utsystem.edu/utshbc/home.html