ABSTRACT NUMBER: ESOC2026A640 IS PERSONAL RESILIENCE ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTH STATUS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING AFTER STROKE?

Abstract Background and aims Stroke is the leading cause of functional disability in the adult population and one of the leading causes of death in many countries around the world. It is important to assess associations between resilience, and both wellbeing and self-reported health after stroke as a means of developing approaches to post-stroke care that support both physical and psychological health Methods As part of the lead author’s doctoral research, we conducted a prospective study including 160 hospitalized patients with incident ischemic stroke, aged 45 and over and no cognitive impairment. Participants were interviewed during the acute hospitalization and phone-interviewed three months after the stroke Results Resilience, self-reported health and wellbeing were evaluated using validated tools. The participants’ mean (SD) age was 70.3 (10.6) years, 68.6% were men and 86.3% were independent before the stroke. Stroke severity was defined using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and reported as minor stroke (NIHSS 1-4) for 69.3% of the participants. Three months after stroke, 51% of the participants showed high or very high levels of resilience and 48.8% considered their health status as good. A negative correlation was found between self-reported health and level of psychological wellbeing (rs=-0.180, p<0.05). Conclusions Our findings suggest that higher resilience is associated with higher self-reported health and wellbeing after stroke. Future research should explore the mechanisms by which resilience influences recovery and identify ways to support resilience-building in stroke survivors to foster sustainable well-being. Conflict of interest Zuha Miaary. nothing to disclose, Prof. Silvia Koton. nothing to disclose.