Abstract: Stroke patients seek support to cope with the psychological effects of living with any level of disability. The ability to use mobile communication to seek support from persons with similar experiences opens up a new avenue for support that transcends the barrier of traditional care. However, the healthcare professionals should also maintain an open connection with their patients to clarify any questions their patients may have from the discussions. And how to help them to intervene would be another important thing to do. An empowered and informed consumer can become a mutual partner. For the healthcare professionals to facilitate help seeking in this way they need to further understand, through future research, this type of communication and its meaning to the participants, as well as the type of people who use this informal medium for support. Changes in health care delivery encourage healthcare providers to seek new approaches for reaching patients and providing support to promote health, which would heavily rely on mobile learning. |
