Abstract: Objective To construct the concept of social participation in stroke survivors with hemiplegia. Methods Twelve stroke survivors with hemiplegia in a rehabilitation hospital in Shanghai and a stroke follow-up clinic from September 2017 to June 2018 were selected by using purpose sampling method. Data were collected and recorded using semi-structured interviews, and analyzed through Colaizzi analysis to extract the theme. Results The understanding of social participation in patients with hemiplegia can be summarized into 3 themes and 7 subthemes, namely, having a body of freedom (self-care and freedom of movement), doing meaningful things (assuming family commitments, return to work, and enjoyment of a good life), and interacting with others (increased interaction and reduced interaction). Conclusion The extracted 3 themes of social participation reflect the independence, influence and interaction of stroke patients with hemiplegia, which together constitute the “3 I” model of social participation. This study provides a full understanding for social participation and a theoretical basis for further development of specific instruments of social participation for stroke patients.

Key words: hemiplegia, stroke survivor, social participation, “3 I” model, qualitative research