focalinterest.net

AI Summary of Scholarly Research

This page presents an AI-generated summary of a published research paper. The original authors did not write or review this article. [See full disclosure ↓]

Stroke survivors described spirituality as trust and emotional balance

Written by

editor@focalinterest.com

in

Research area:philosophy-religionreligion-theology

What the study found

The study found that survivors of stroke described spiritual wellbeing as trust in a higher power and maintaining emotional balance. Reported practices included mindfulness, prayer, and spending time in nature.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that spiritual wellbeing and its practices are important to survivors of stroke and can serve as a foundation for targeted interventions in poststroke care. They also say future research should examine spiritual wellbeing in diverse populations to develop tailored interventions.

What the researchers tested

The researchers used a convergent parallel mixed methods design, combining virtual focus groups with survivors of stroke and caregivers with survey data from the All of Us research database. They analyzed qualitative data with the framework method and summarized responses to a 7-item spirituality survey using descriptive statistics, then integrated the two data sets with joint displays.

What worked and what didn't

The focus groups included 41 participants across 6 groups. In the survey data, 70% of respondents endorsed connection with God or a higher power, 51.7% said they did not attend religious services as a practice, and 90.4% felt spiritually touched by nature at least occasionally.

What to keep in mind

The study was completed from October 2023 to February 2025 and used virtual focus groups plus survey data from the All of Us research database. The abstract does not describe specific limitations beyond calling for more research in diverse populations.

Key points

  • Survivors of stroke described spiritual wellbeing as trust in a higher power and emotional balance.
  • Mindfulness, prayer, and spending time in nature were identified as spiritual wellbeing practices.
  • Survey data from 5,428 respondents showed 70% endorsed connection with God or a higher power.
  • More than half of respondents, 51.7%, reported not attending religious services as a practice.
  • Most respondents, 90.4%, said they were spiritually touched by nature at least occasionally.

Disclosure

Research title:
Stroke survivors described spirituality as trust and emotional balance
Authors:
Devanshi Choksi, Mary Craven, Taylor McVeigh, Akashleena Mallick, Tanzeela Ranman, Christina Kourkoulis, Sofia Constantinescu, Rachel Kitagawa, Emilie Egger, Lindsay Rosenfeld, Rachel Forman, Guido J. Falcone, Jonathan Rosand, Vanessa L. Merker, Tracy A. Balboni, Nirupama Yechoor
Institutions:
Boston University, Harvard University, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, University School, Yale University, Yale University, Yale University, Yale University
Publication date:
2026-03-10
DOI:
10.1161/jaha.125.044155
OpenAlex record:
View
AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.

More posts