Sarah Paterson

Thesis title: Understanding Physical Activity Behaviour in People with Stroke

Start year: 2025

Research topic

Physical activity is an important aspect of, secondary prevention and health-related quality of life after stroke but levels of activity are low.

My literature review demonstrated a wide variety of activity interventions which are more likely to be effective if aligned with at least two elements of the COM-B model of behaviour change. Whilst this helps inform intervention content, there was limited evidence regarding how activity might be built up through the day or how stroke symptoms impact potential activity patterns.

Through analysis of physical activity data of a population with chronic stroke, I have looked to understand frequency and duration of physical activity in relation to common post-stroke symptoms. Findings suggest that frequency is associated with different symptoms to those associated with duration. My final study will use a longitudinal data set to establish whether these relationships change over time.

These findings will be important for future intervention development to enable targeted and personalised interventions to support people to improve their physical activity after stroke.