Healthcare Consumers' Need for Brain-injury Services: The Critical Importance of Timing in Planning Future Services

Abstract

Developing an awareness of the preferences of healthcare consumers is essential in determining the 'reality' of service provision, in planning the provision of brain-injury services and in service evaluation. Consumers should be given the opportunity to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the services they receive, offering their perceptions of barriers to service access, which could be removed once known. This article presents narratives of the healthcare journeys of three adults with a moderate to severe brain injury. The experiences of these participants were elicited through in-depth interviews. The aim of this article is to convey how the needs and experiences of adults with brain injury change throughout time, affecting their ability to access care over time. Previous research by the authors of this paper identified five factors that affect consumers' experiences of care: acceptance and readiness, support, advocacy, the right service at the right time and mismatched expectations. The fluidity and interaction of these factors through time is demonstrated in this article as facilitating and impeding access to services. The implications for clinicians in considering these factors when planning services for adults with moderate to severe brain injuries are explored.

We Finally Learnt to Demand: Consumers’ Access to Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury

“…The impacts of acceptance and readiness for therapy, access to support and matched expectations on engagement with therapy have been explored elsewhere in the literature (LeFebvre, Pelchat, Swaine, Gelinas, & Levert, 2005; O'Callaghan, McAllister, & Wilson, 2012b; Sample & Darragh, 1998). However, the impacts of an advocate and accessing what participants perceived to be the right service at the right time have not been previously discussed in the literature and therefore discussion of these factors in relation to the distribution of TBI services will be the focus of the remainder of this paper.…”

Whose Outcome is it Anyway? Outcome and Brain Injury Case Management

“…BICMs use their extensive knowledge of the client, family and of brain injury to identify gaps in support and match client needs to relevant available resources or service provisions (BABICM, 2020;Odumuyiwa et al, 2019;Simpson et al, 2018). Therefore, one aspect of the effectiveness of case management is implied by the BICMs ability to overcome the barriers to accessing service provisions that family members and clients can experience (Degeneffe et al, 2016;Greenwood et al, 2016;O'Callaghan, McAllister and Wilson, 2012).…”

Personal experiences of appropriate access to post-acute care services in acquired brain injury: a scoping review

“…Results of a study by Turner et al (2011a) suggested that the organisation of ongoing post-acute care services was often not completed as part of the discharge preparation process, and therefore families were often required to do this themselves, resulting in delays. These delays in service provision in those with ABI can result in the exacerbation of existing problems (Copley et al, 2013;Leith, Phillips & Sample, 2004;O'Callaghan et al, 2012aO'Callaghan et al, , 2012b. The reviewed literature emphasised that service users' needs are often time-dependent, one study found that support with guidance and planning was often vital right after discharge (Rotondi, Sinkule, Balzer, Harris & Moldovan, 2007).…”