Objectives: The overall purpose of this study is to illuminate the changeover process experienced by people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in every day life and to increase our understanding of this process. Three main questions are in focus: the process, social support and long-term consequences.
Methods: Persons who as adults acquire a TBI have been interviewed using an interview guide comprising six areas: consequences of TBI, family and social network, working life and occupation, life-changes, support from society and every day life. The interviews are qualitative in-depth interviews. Informants were in total 15, aged 19-53 when injured. Data were structured and analysed by latent content analysis with a hermeneutic approach, and later within a theory of social recognition.
Results: The findings were presented in six themes: the meaning of care, a question of formal versus informal support, the theme of changes, a question of process versus stagnation, the meaning of action, a question of activity versus inactivity, social interaction, a question of encounter and treatment, empowerment, a question of dependence versus independence, emotions, a oscillation between hope and hopelessness.
Conclusions: A preliminarily conclusion shows that significant others, e.g. next of kin, have had an important function as a driving force for training and for life-situation after injury. A majority of the interviewed were satisfied with support from society, e.g. hospital-care, rehabilitation and community support. Such support, initially, flew without problems but demanded more of the TBI-personals’ initiatives to work out in the extension. A long-term support which deals with physical, cognitive as well as psychosocial consequences is important for outcomes in everyday life. Reported consequences were negative as well as positive.
2006.
5th International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health, Hong Kong, 10-14 December 2006