Exploring the views of people with stroke regarding aerobic exercise participation during inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation: a qualitative descriptive study

Abstract Objective We aimed to explore views of people with stroke regarding aerobic exercise participation during rehabilitation. Design Qualitative descriptive study informed by a pragmatic worldview. Setting and participants People with stroke attended online or in-person one-on-one semi-structured interviews focused on their general attitudes about aerobic exercise, and their capability, motivation and opportunities to exercise that have or have not been provided during rehabilitation after stroke. Data analysis Codebook thematic analysis was performed by two independent coders. Results: Thirteen people, 2 to 10 months post-stroke participated in the interviews. Six themes were identified: 1) having an exercise program routine and trusting the physiotherapist during rehabilitation facilitated doing exercise ; 2) emotions can make exercise during rehabilitation more or less difficult; 3) limited physical ability post stroke leads to poor exercise self-efficacy and sense of control; 4) knowledge of what exercise is and its benefits affects perseverance in exercising during rehabilitation; 5) personal identity affects perseverance in doing exercises during rehabilitation; and 6) environmental factors facilitate exercise performance (consisting of two sub-themes of supportive social environment promotes exercise participation, and more resources (e.g., time, space, staff, other programs) facilitate exercising during and after rehabilitation). Conclusions People with stroke are more likely to engage in aerobic exercise if it is incorporated into their treatment plan. This novel finding could help ensure physiotherapists prescribe aerobic exercise during stroke rehabilitation.