Wednesday 16 May 2012

Communication

Hi Sarah, I find your blog to be very interesting, informative and well written. These videos are all very interesting and well chosen. I was particularly interested in the videos about Sarah Scott, and the vast improvement in her speech was remarkable. I was just wondering whether you know what kind of intervention techniques they use to improve Broca's aphasia?
 
Hi Aimee, thank you! yes Sarah has made great improvement! I'm not entirely sure on her specific interventions but an Occupational Therapist would work collaboratively with a Speech and Language Therapist to slowly improve her articulation, through word games and writing interventions.
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Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities

In Fieldwork 1, being placed on the geriatric AT&R ward, I had a lot of experience dealing with the O.T practice area of stroke. There are many online communities that offer support and guidance for those people suffering from strokes and their family and friends.

Stroke foundation of New Zealand: http://www.stroke.org.nz/home
The Stroke Foundation of New Zealand website accompanies the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand and is a means of providing people with an easily accessible link to this support system. The website includes sections regarding how to contact the stroke foundation, how to donate to the foundation, stroke information, resources, information on campaigns, news, and links to other services. This particular site is not the most interactive that I have, although it is well set out, with drop-down headings, plenty of images and a search box - there is no particular area in which visitors to the site can directly contribute, or comment on the content. However, some areas of the site do require a log in and account, so for people who regularly use the website, making a registration may allow them to contribute and access more interactive sections of the site. 

The ehealth Forum is an online forum that aims to provide support through allowing people to share their thoughts and experiences with others. It defines itself as a "health community featuring member and doctor discussions ranging from a specific symptom to related conditions, treatment options, medications, side effects, diet, and emotional issues surrounding medical conditions". The site is very interactive - as well as easy to use. Once you are registered you have the ability to post under a wide range of topic areas. Many people ask questions which are then discussed and considered by other stroke sufferers and doctors to try and provide the original poster with a comprehensive answer. 

Facebook page - Strokes Suck - http://www.facebook.com/Strokessuck
Strokes Suck is a Facebook page that provides Facebook users with a network that they can connect to share stories, images, videos, easily organise events and chat to others who are experiencing similar things to them; therefore providing support and a sense of community. There is also a newsletter associated to the site that people can sign up to and receive. The page is extremely easy to use and interactive, and would be a familiar format for those individuals who regularly use Facebook. People can contribute through 'liking' the page - they then have complete accessibility to viewing content, and can communicate with others, post inspirational photographs and videos, and link other helpful information or pages that they feel may be valuable to members of the community. They will also be notified through email and Facebook's notification system if new information or interactions occur on the page (e.g somebody comments on a photo that they posted), enabling them to be continuously engaged with the site and feel up to date and informed.

I believe that the users of these online communities choose to engage in and contribute to them because they are a convenient, accessible and valuable means of support that can help them enormously in coping with their experience of a stroke. People who use such communities are seeking information regarding their condition from experts, but most importantly, they are seeking guidance, support and understanding. Because online communities, such as these regarding stroke often have contributors who have had similar experiences or share similar knowledge, it allows people to feel that they are talking to others who truly understand what they have been going through, and therefore creates a strong sense of support and friendship amongst users, which is what I believe is one of the key benefits of these sites. The information that is shared on these sites comes from a variety of sources; sites such as the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand provides a lot of government/ ministry of health audited information, while forums and Facebook pages contain a lot more reciprocal knowledge shared by stroke suffers, families, friends and medical professionals. 

Stroke has huge impact upon peoples occupational lives. People who experience stroke also often experience occupational disruption, which is defined by Christiansen & Townsend (2010) as being "a transient or temporary condition of being restricted from participation in necessary or meaningful occupations, such as that caused by illness, temporary relocation, or temporary unemployment". Stroke often happens suddenly, with no prior warning, and therefore people are unprepared for the  huge and sudden impact that the cognitive and physical effects of a stroke will have upon their occupational life, and their ability to perform the occupations that they once could with ease. This occupational disruption can be extremely hard to cope with for individuals and their families, and therefore the use of an online community can assist the person in creating a stronger support system and gaining advice on how best to deal with occupational disruption. Stroke sufferers may also experience an occupational transition - which is when "circumstances creating change in the nature or type of occupational engagement pursued by or available to an individual. Such changes may be the result of choice, changes in physical or mental status, life transitions, geographical change, geopolitical strife, or other factors" (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). Stroke sufferers are almost certain to go through an occupational transition, as the occupations that they once used to participate in may no longer be possible, but new ones may arise through their involvement in a new community. For example, a stroke patient who once used to spend his time playing golf, may access an online stroke community, become involved in fundraising and awareness events and therefore experience an occupational transition. 

Although online communities have a number of benefits, there may also be ethical considerations that arise when using them. For websites such as the ehealth Forum, although one must make an account to contribute, there is a large degree of anonymity - with no real names or personal information supplied. This is essential in ensuring users safety, but because of the anonymous nature of contribution, there is often ethical issues around individuals who may chose to abuse the system - who post inappropriate and irrelevant information that may be considered offensive to others, and think that they can get away with it because nobody knows who they are. To address this ethical issue, many online communities have methods of moderating such users, where other members can report abuse or block them, and their membership privileges can be taken away.

Online communities such as those investigated above have plenty of benefits, but also have limitations when comparing them to traditional geographical communities, such as support group meetings. They can provide large amounts of relevant information, can provide connections over large geographical distances, are fast and less costly to run, and give people a more equal voice and a feeling of unity and understanding. But it is important to be wary of the negatives too when utilitising these systems- some of the information shared can be invalid and untrustworthy, having reliable access sources to the technology can sometimes prove an issue, and sometimes, overuse and misuse can immerse the person too deep into the virtual world and result in the individual developing a delusional reliance upon the community, isolating themselves from real life social interactions.

References

Christiansen, C. H., & Townsend, E. A. (2010). An introduction to occupation: The art and
               science of living (2nd ed.). United States of America: Pearson Education Inc.