The paradox of hope for working age adults recovering from stroke.

This article draws on data from a Stroke Association-funded longitudinal study in South East England (2003-2006) that explored the experiences and recovery of 43 stroke survivors under 60 years. Participants were invited to take part in four interviews over an 18-month period and to complete a diary for 1 week each month during this period. Here, we chart their shifting attitudes towards the process of their recovery.

Actions speak louder than words: the embodiment of trust by healthcare professionals in gynae-oncology.

Trust is vital for quality healthcare outcomes, yet existing research neglects the 'embodiedness' of the interactions on which trust is based. This article draws on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with cervical cancer patients. The significance of body work in winning or, on occasions, undermining trust emerged as a key theme within the responses.

'Rapid response teams will make some difference but at what cost?' (laura stosz and professor andy alaszewski).

As Alan Johnson, the secretary of state for health, notes in his foreword to the End of Life Care Strategy, more than 500,000 people die each year in England, of whom more than two thirds are over 75. Surveys supporting the strategy indicate that most people would prefer to die at home ( Higginson and Sen-Gupta 2000 ); however, only 18 per cent do so and older people are even less likely to die at home ( Higginson et al 1999 ).

Working after a stroke: survivors' experiences and perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of the return to paid employment.

Purpose: This paper examines respondents' relationship with work following a stroke and explores their experiences including the perceived barriers to and facilitators of a return to employment.

Method: Our qualitative study explored the experiences and recovery of 43 individuals under 60 years who had survived a stroke. Participants, who had experienced a first stroke less than three months before and who could engage in in-depth interviews, were recruited through three stroke services in South East England.

A person-centred approach to communicating risk.

Standard approaches to communicating risk to patients do not appear to be very effective, argues Alaszewski. We need a new approach that takes patients' own perceptions into account

The bereavement model, stroke and rehabilitation: a critical analysis of the use of a psychological model in professional practice.

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to explore with stroke survivors, carers and professionals, the impact of stroke and the process of recovery and rehabilitation. One theme that emerged in interviews with professionals was their use of the bereavement model in relation to recovery from stroke. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which professionals use the bereavement model to explain and manage the rehabilitation of stroke survivors.

How can doctors communicate information about risk more effectively?

Effective communication of risk can improve both individual and national health, and there has been substantial investment in such communication. Has this yielded the anticipated improvements in health?

Carers. Handle with care.

Carers complain they are sometimes excluded from decision making and are seen as lacking in knowledge. Detailed discussion in advance makes a discharge more likely to be successful. Carers of children with learning disabilities have particular communication and support needs.

The impact of the Bristol Royal Infirmary disaster and inquiry on public services in the UK.

The inquiry into the services provided by the paediatric cardiac surgical team at Bristol Royal Infirmary between 1984 and 1995 marks a watershed in the development of health and social care services in the UK. There was an organisational failure of foresight based on a series of systemic and communication failures which contributed to oversight of an 'incubating' hazard which ultimately led to disaster. The recommendations of the Bristol inquiry have provided a major stimulus to the modernisation programme and especially of governance in health and social care which aims to restore public confidence and create 'high-trust' organisations.