“Getting the Left Right”: The Experience of Hemispatial Neglect After Stroke

TY - JOUR

T1 - “Getting the Left Right”

T2 - The Experience of Hemispatial Neglect After Stroke

AU - Klinke, Marianne E.

AU - Zahavi, Dan

AU - Hjaltason, Haukur

AU - Thorsteinsson, Björn

AU - Jónsdóttir, Helga

PY - 2015/12/1

Y1 - 2015/12/1

N2 - We used a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the experiences of self, other, and world in patients with hemispatial neglect within the first month following stroke. Comprehensive descriptions of circumstances were conjoined with open-ended interviews of 12 participants. The neglect experience was captured in the overarching theme, “getting the left right,” which encompasses the two subthemes of (a) surreal awareness of the left and (b) emergence of a different world. Patients had unclear perceptions of their own body and surroundings, their attention was brittle, and they encountered bewildering reactions from other people. They simultaneously pursued the ineffable neglected space and searched for coherence. The vulnerability, loss, and conflicting perceptions that patients with neglect face should be acknowledged and alleviation sought. Facilitating methods should provide additional opportunities for patients to communicate their experiences. We underscore the importance of readjusting the current approaches of neglect and emphasizing meaningfulness in professional guidance.

AB - We used a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the experiences of self, other, and world in patients with hemispatial neglect within the first month following stroke. Comprehensive descriptions of circumstances were conjoined with open-ended interviews of 12 participants. The neglect experience was captured in the overarching theme, “getting the left right,” which encompasses the two subthemes of (a) surreal awareness of the left and (b) emergence of a different world. Patients had unclear perceptions of their own body and surroundings, their attention was brittle, and they encountered bewildering reactions from other people. They simultaneously pursued the ineffable neglected space and searched for coherence. The vulnerability, loss, and conflicting perceptions that patients with neglect face should be acknowledged and alleviation sought. Facilitating methods should provide additional opportunities for patients to communicate their experiences. We underscore the importance of readjusting the current approaches of neglect and emphasizing meaningfulness in professional guidance.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - body image

KW - Embodiment / bodily experiences

KW - interviews

KW - lived experience

KW - neurology

KW - nursing

KW - oberservation, participant

KW - phenomenology

KW - qualitative analysis

KW - stroke

U2 - 10.1177/1049732314566328

DO - 10.1177/1049732314566328

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25563629

SN - 1049-7323

VL - 25

SP - 1623

EP - 1636

JO - Qualitative Health Research

JF - Qualitative Health Research

IS - 12

ER -