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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
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Haptic/Graphic Rehabilitation: Integrating a Robot into a Virtual Environment Library and Applying it to Stroke Therapy
Published on: August 8, 2011
Lifeworld perspectives utilizing assistive devices: individuals, lived experience following a stroke
Ingvor Pettersson1, Peter Appelros, Gerd Ahlström
1Department of Health Sciences, Orebro University, Sweden. ingvor.pettersson@hi.oru.se
Summary
Assistive devices offer independence post-stroke but can also cause negative feelings due to limitations. Understanding this dual experience is key for effective occupational therapy support.
Area of Science:
- Phenomenology
- Lifeworld Research
- Assistive Device Research
Background:
- Individual meaning and lived experiences are central to lifeworld research.
- Understanding the subjective experience of disability is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore personal meaning and lived experiences of individuals post-stroke using assistive devices.
- To investigate the complex relationship between disability, assistive technology, and individual well-being.
Main Methods:
- Hermeneutic-phenomenological research approach.
- Conversational interviews with 22 post-stroke individuals.
- Focus on daily experiences with assistive devices.
Main Results:
- Assistive devices evoke dual experiences: enabling independence while imposing restrictions.
- Negative feelings arise from device-related limitations, contrasting with their role in well-being.
- These experiences are analyzed through the lens of the lived body, space, social relations, and time.
Conclusions:
- Occupational therapists can enhance support by understanding the contradictory experiences of assistive device users.
- Acknowledging the lived experiences of post-stroke individuals is vital for effective rehabilitation.
- This research informs therapeutic interventions for individuals using assistive devices.
