Patterns of Social Participation Among Survivors of Stroke in China and the Relationship With Personal and Environmental Factors: A Latent Class Analysis

BACKGROUND: Social participation refers to individuals engaging in important and meaningful activities in life situations, such as social interaction. There is limited published literature about social participation patterns and their relationships with personal and environmental factors. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify social participation patterns among Chinese survivors of stroke and evaluate how personal and environmental factors differentiate these patterns. METHODS: Using data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, 502 survivors of stroke aged 45 and above were analyzed. Latent class analysis identified distinct participation patterns, and multinomial logistic regression explored associated factors. RESULTS: Three patterns of social participation were identified: High Organization- and Information-Centered pattern (class 1, 6.18%); High Interaction- and Entertainment-Centered pattern (class 2, 4.78%); Low Entertainment- and Organization-Centered pattern (class 3, 89.04%). Participants assigned to class 2 had minimal comorbidities and the lowest depression scores, while those in class 1 exhibited higher cognitive function scores, as well as the highest scores for livable residence. Age, the number of chronic diseases, recall ability, monthly household expenditure, and having a livable residence were significantly associated with patterns of social participation. CONCLUSION: This study identified 3 distinct patterns of social participation among Chinese survivors of stroke, with personal factors (ie, number of chronic diseases and cognitive function) and environmental factors (ie, livable residence) significantly differentiating these patterns. These findings suggest that interventions should be tailored to survivors' health status and living conditions to promote meaningful social participation and potentially improve their physical, psychological, and cognitive health outcomes.