Health professionals' perceptions of cultural influences on stroke experiences and rehabilitation in Kuwait.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of health professionals who treat stroke patients in Kuwait regarding cultural influences on the experience of stroke and rehabilitation in Kuwait. Health professionals interviewed were from a variety of cultural backgrounds thus providing an opportunity to investigate how they perceived the influence of culture on stroke recovery and rehabilitation in Kuwait. METHOD Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 health professionals with current/recent stroke rehabilitation experience in Kuwait, followed by thematic analysis of the verbatim transcripts. RESULTS The health professionals identified several features of the Kuwaiti culture that they believed affected the experiences of stroke patients. These were religious beliefs, family involvement, limited education and public information about stroke, prevailing negative attitudes toward stroke, access to finances for private treatment, social stigma and the public invisibility of disabled people, difficulties identifying meaningful goals for rehabilitation, and an acceptance of dependency linked with the widespread presence of maids and other paid assistants in most Kuwaiti homes. CONCLUSION To offer culturally sensitive care, these issues should be taken into account during the rehabilitation of Kuwaiti stroke patients in their home country and elsewhere.