The programme is in development and is still subject to change.

  • Day One
  • Day Two

Expanding possibilities

Monday 9 March 2026 Stockholmsmässan, Stockholm

08:45 - 08:55

Welcome from the programme committee chairs

Professor Anita Arsovska

University Ss Cyril and Methodius, North Macedonia

Associate Professor Nicola Hancock

University of East Anglia, UK

08:55 - 09:45

Life after stroke in Sweden

The Swedish model of life after stroke care: Organisational success factors

Professor Bo Norrving

Lund University, Sweden

Monitoring life after stroke in Sweden

Professor Mia von Euler

President of Sophiahemmet University and chairs the Swedish Stroke Registry, Riksstroke, Sweden

Champions or dedicated advocates

Annelie Heikenborn

Stroke Survivor, Sweden

Speak to the patient - Counselling support and regular follow-up questions will accelerate the recovery

Helen Palmqvist Novik

Stroke survivor, Sweden

Q&A

09:45 - 11:00

Plenary: Life after stroke - What does it actually mean?

My life after stroke. An auto-ethnographical account, explored through an adaptation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Clíodhna Ni Bhroin

Stroke Survivor

Stroke Action Plan for Europe

Programme theories of life after stroke, results of a realist review

Associate Professor Olive Lennon

University College Dublin, Ireland

A co-designed life after stroke supportive pathway: experiences from an Irish applied partnership approach

Dr Mary O’Neill

Nursing and research, Ireland

11:00 - 11:45

REFRESHMENTS, EXHIBITION & POSTER VIEWING

11:45 - 12:45

Parallel: Fatigue in life after stroke - Research insights and real-world journeys

Recommendations from the International 3rd Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable – A roadmap for research in post-stroke fatigue.

Professor Anners Lerdal

Nursing, Norway

Co-designing and testing a management programme with peer support for post-stroke fatigue: Nottingham fatigue after stroke study (NotFAST3)

Professor Avril Drummond

University of Nottingham, UK

Holding on to Progress: Fatigue, work and what really matters after stroke

Vasileios Maligkos

Lived Experience

Q&A

11:45 - 12:45

Parallel: The same, but different - implementation of an evidence-based approach to supporting self-management (Bridges) across 4 European nations

11:45 - 12:45

Parallel: Understanding the mind after stroke - How thinking and emotions shape daily life after stroke

12:45 - 14:30

LUNCH, EXHIBITION & POSTER VIEWING

14:30 - 15:45

Plenary: A good life after stroke - The contribution of the physical environment

Stroke, Environment, and Participation: Why Place Matters

Professor Marie Elf

Dalarna University, Sweden

Place Mapping: A Participatory Tool to Explore Meaningful Environments Post-Stroke

Martian Slagter

Postdoc researcher health geography, Sweden

“It’s not just about the body”: Insights from stroke survivors on living well

Q&A

15:45 - 16:15

REFRESHMENTS, EXHIBITION & POSTER VIEWING

16:15 - 17:15

Workshop

16:15 - 17:15

Parallel: Empowering people living with aphasia: sharing learning through community groups

Online Aphasia Café: A springboard for creating stroke survivor-led aphasia communities

Associate Professor Helen Kelly

University College Cork, Ireland

The Aphasia Communication Team (TACT) – A supportive, motivational, practical andeducational community for people with aphasia

Dr Marina Charalambous

Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus

Online aphasia groups for people with aphasia – from a temporary Covid-19 initiative to a sustainable community

Sabine Renner Christiansen

Stroke survivor, Denmark

Associate Professor Jytte Isaksen

Department of Culture and Language, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

Development of an international training program for speech therapy students to introduce psychological well-being approaches to aphasia care

Professor Sabine Corsten

University of Applied Sciences, Mainz, Germany

Q&A

16:15 - 17:15

Parallel: Making secondary prevention work - Empowering people beyond hospital walls

Living with stroke: what does prevention really look like after discharge?

Risk factors and secondary prevention in younger people with stroke- are we asking the right questions?

Janeil Bennett

PHD Student

Working collaboratively with a Stroke Support Organisation to implement a co-designed, evidence-based stroke secondary prevention intervention.

Q&A

19:00 - 21:00

WELCOME RECEPTION

Reframing the future

Tuesday 10 March 2026 Stockholmsmässan, Stockholm

09:00 - 10:15

Plenary: Addressing health inequalities in stroke care across Europe

10:30 - 11:30

Parallel: The impact on families of children affected by stroke

10:30 - 11:30

Parallel: Is six months post-stroke the end? Challenging limited thinking to maximise potential

Is six months post-stroke the end? Challenging limits to maximise neurological potential beyond this.

Associate Professor Melinda B. Roaldsen

MD and stroke expert with lived experience

Optimising physical recovery when back at home

Dr Kenneth Monaghan

Lecturer in Health Science at ATU Sligo and Director of ‘Neuroplasticity Research Group’

Investigating changes in quality of life after high-dose, high intensity upper limb rehabilitation in people later after stroke

10:30 - 11:30

Parallel: Top scoring scientific and service abstracts

11:30 - 12:00

REFRESHMENTS, EXHIBITION & POSTER VIEWING

12:00 - 12:30

Closing remarks

Professor Anita Arsovska

University Ss Cyril and Methodius, North Macedonia

Associate Professor Nicola Hancock

University of East Anglia, UK

12:30 - 16:30

SAFE members meeting - By invitation only