An Ethnography of Stroke Survivors in Their Church Communities

Abstract

This research examines the experiences of 12 communication-impaired stroke survivors in their church communities using the ethnographic methods of interviews and participant observation. The interviews reveal that the major concerns of stroke survivors are a desire for community and purpose. Church communities view the problems of a stroke survivor through a medical model of disability rather than a social model, a perspective that results in stroke survivors receiving support during their rehabilitation but not when they return home. Participant observation of church services reveals that they are very poor places for communication, especially for those who have communication impairments.

KEYWORDS:

• social inclusion
• practical theology
• ethnography
• stroke