Nova Creatio: A Clinical Perspective on Rehabilitative Everyday Objects for People with Chronic Stroke

Abstract

Stroke affects 15 million people worldwide and is the third most likely cause of death. Unilateral impairments after a stroke affect the ability to carry out daily activities with the affected arm and hand. The preferential use of the less affected side can lead to a so-called learned nonuse. Although a number of assistive everyday objects are available to people with stroke, little is known about how everyday objects could be designed to be useful for a self-directed rehabilitation and how the user experience of stroke patients could be evaluated to design complex digital and/or physical systems. We developed a set of design criteria that other designers can use to create rehabilitative objects. We interviewed 12 stroke health professionals to investigate what the user experience in the rehabilitation process looks like, and which clinical criteria need to be considered in the context of designing rehabilitative objects. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results indicate that to encourage the use of the affected arm and hand in people who live at home and have reached the chronic stage of the recovery, self-efficacy needs to be in place. Furthermore, people must undergo a behaviour change in order to overcome the learned nonuse.