Abstract Body: Introduction: Almost 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year. An eye stroke or a stroke that involves the retina is one type of stroke that affects vision, causing sudden and permanent blindness in one or both eyes. Eye strokes can result in loss of function because of difficulty with depth perception and visual field loss. Outpatient eye stroke therapy currently involves education on compensatory strategies and stroke prevention. However, such clinics are scarce and geographically dispersed, therefore creating a critical gap in accessible care and research opportunities for eye stroke survivors. To overcome access barriers, we adapted an evidence-based, self-management program originally designed for people with age-related macular degeneration now for stroke survivors. It incorporates 6 education modules such as strategies to ensure safety when cooking and technology options. We tested feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability of the group intervention.
Methods: Single arm, iterative (run twice) pilot feasibility design. Consent occurred in the clinic. Inclusion criteria: (1) eye stroke, (2) less than 1-year post stroke, (3) visual impairment due to the stroke, (4) over the age of 40, (5) cognitively intact as defined by the Blind-MOCA. Group intervention occurred via 1-hour Zoom calls over 6 weeks. To ensure fidelity, prepared PowerPoints were utilized and a research assistant completed checklists live during each module. Electronic surveys were sent out the day after the final call.
Results: 11 people screened and approached, 10 consented, 2 people were lost follow ups. 8 participants (2 groups, 3 and 5) completed the intervention (M age= 70.1 years; 62.5% male, 75% white, 90% monocular vision loss). Few modifications were made between groups based on first group’s feedback; e.g., print and mail the program content (PowerPoint) before the sessions began. 100% of all participants described the intervention as feasible (e.g., Zoom versus in person), 87.5% said the content was appropriate, and 100% agreed this was an acceptable adapted intervention they would recommend.
Conclusions: Our self-management program was implemented while maintaining fidelity. It was feasible, appropriate, acceptable; had no adverse events nor drop outs. Our cohort was small and primarily white men. Future work should include: (1) intentional recruitment of diverse groups of people and (2) investigation into the efficacy of this adapted self-management intervention.