Experiences of care reported by adults with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

This paper investigates the continuum of care experienced by adults and their significant others following a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Victoria, Australia. Clinical care guidelines exist defining best practice in TBI rehabilitation, but little is currently known about the experiences of those who sustain a TBI, their needs and the barriers they encounter when attempting to access services. This paper presents the journeys of 202 Victorians admitted for acute care following a moderate to severe TBI over 4 years. Results of this study indicate very few participants report receiving services in line with recommendations made in clinical care guidelines. In addition reported access to services was noted to vary according to allocated healthcare funding (i.e., compensable vs. private vs. public). Clinicians' consideration of healthcare consumers' experiences are essential if services provided are to match consumers' needs.

Acquired brain injury services in the Republic of Ireland: Experiences and perceptions of families and professionals

“…For example, in the family groups, families discussed difficulties with the delivery of information to them relating to their relatives' condition, as has been found in similar international studies [4,5,32]. This was one of the factors that led to their feeling that relationships with staff in services were not ideal.…”

“…Furthermore, people with ABI often experience coma and post-traumatic amnesia in the earliest stages of treatment [39] so could not be expected to recall this. This would be an interesting and necessary avenue for future research in Ireland and has been done to great effect in other studies [4,15,32]. It is possible that people with ABI would experience information overload in a focus group setting.…”

Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation: Systematic Review of the Literature From 2009 Through 2014

“…interventions also have the potential to bridge some common gaps in treatment access for individuals with brain injury, including restrictions imposed by disability-related limitations, geographical barriers, funding restrictions, and time constraints of complex contemporary lifestyle. 162,163 Unfortunately, proper scientific examination and evidence of efficacy has traditionally lagged behind the rapid expansion of computerized brain training programs with claims to change brain structure and function. [164][165][166] The CRTF found evidence that computerbased direct attention training for modular impairments in working memory can improve specific cognitive functions and generalize to improved subjective complaints.…”

Speech pathologists’ current practice with cognitive-communication assessment during post-traumatic amnesia: A survey

“…Rehabilitation after severe injury may span the course of decades and speech pathologists provide a range of services at different stages of recovery to meet the needs of the injured person and their family [4]. Recent studies have investigated the role of the speech pathologist and family at later stages of recovery [66].…”