A new-look resource is empowering young survivors of stroke to discover their new normal through podcasts and blogs created by those with lived experience.
Made by survivors of stroke, for survivors of stroke, the Young Stroke Project is a three-year project delivering digital information to young survivors of stroke and their support networks, including their friends, families, and carers.
The lived experience working group was consulted the entire way though the website redevelopment, including updating the language to ensure it was more relatable and inclusive.
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sharon McGowan said a quarter of all strokes in Australia are experienced by people aged between 18 and 54 years old.
"It's a common misconception that strokes only happen to older people and that's simply not true. There are more than 142,000 young Australians living with the impact of stroke, and around 20 strokes a day impact people in this age bracket," Ms McGowan said.
"Before we started this project, we heard from many people that support just didn't exist for young survivors of stroke. People wanted to see themselves and their peers involved in solutions, they wanted to know there were other people like them.
The project saw young survivors of stroke pitch content for the website and share their own experiences, stories, and tips and be paid for their contribution.
"One of the most important things we did was pay people for being part of governance, for facilitating workshops, delivering content, and representing the project. By paying contributors we are saying that we value their input in the same way as we value our employed project team members. We asked people with lived experience to share their own experience to hopefully make the path smoother for others in the future," Ms McGowan said.
Some of the content created includes the Smashing it after stroke podcast, the brainchild of Paul Burns who experienced a life changing stroke aged 42. The podcast aims to share insights from other survivors of stroke about how they went onto find their new normal.
They also included several informative blogs, including Sex after stroke, written by Toni Arfaras who experienced a stroke aged 46 while on holiday with her family.
Ms McGowan will be presenting about the success of the project in Christchurch this week at the 31st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Stroke Society of Australasia 2022 conference.
