June is Stroke Awareness Month

Building Capacity in Psychosocial and Hopeful Care initiative is an education and knowledge translation program geared towards addressing the psychosocial care needs of persons with stroke, in response to a gap identified by healthcare providers, persons with stroke and families/ caregivers.  The program was in the early stages of implementation with 3 acute care and 3 rehabilitation stroke teams but was put on hold due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.   In the meantime, two University of Toronto Occupational Therapy Masters’ students conducted a study to understand healthcare providers’ perspectives on pandemic-related changes to patient experiences that impact the need for this program.  Several themes emerged from the eight focus groups conducted, as well as recommendations for implementation once restrictions from the pandemic ease on the healthcare system.  We look forward to working with organizations who began the implementation process pre-pandemic and welcome other organizations within the Toronto Stroke Networks who want to learn how they can implement the program within their setting to contact us.

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