Welcome to the Bridges website
Bridges aims to find better ways of supporting people in the longer term following stroke.
Our self-management programme comprises two main components:
1. Workshops and Support for stroke practitioners to enable the learning of effective skills, theory and research relevant to stroke self-management, allowing the use of the Bridges approach via a series of one to one self-management sessions with the stroke survivor.
2. The provision of personalised, interactive, stroke workbooks given to practitioners to work with the stroke survivor to support their self-management. The stroke workbook includes individual stories and strategies suggested by stroke survivors, together with a diary section to record personal targets and successes.
Bridges has been designed in close consultation with stroke survivors, carers and professionals working in stroke. The stroke workbook was finalised following a consultation day with Connect (the national UK charity for people with communication disabilities), making the workbook more accessible for people with aphasia.
Our stroke self-management programme was originally piloted in three parts of the UK. The first team workshop was held in Dundee in April 2008 and the first London based team workshop took place in July 2008 at Imperial Healthcare Trust. We have now delivered training to stroke teams and practitioners across the UK, including North West and South West London Stroke networks, Derby, Cardiff, Midlands, Wiltshire and Lanarkshire.
The programme is based at St George’s, University of London, Faculty of Health and Social Care. Further research and development is ongoing through research trials and practice evaluation.
