Inpatient Rehabilitation for Women with Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Families

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Annually in the U.S., more than 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and approximately $76.5 billion is spent on TBI treatment and rehabilitation. Over the last 10 years, the prevalence of women with TBI has risen by 49%. Research shows that women with TBI have worse outcomes than men, including reporting more headaches and dizziness, as well as loss of confidence, perceived need for supervision, and problems setting realistic goals. Pre-injury, women generally have different social roles and expectations than men in their personal and work lives. After TBI, women struggle to return to pre-injury roles, evidenced by fewer women returning to work and school and having more challenges with parenting than men. However, due to limited research on women with TBI, knowledge on how to meet women's needs and maximize opportunities for successful outcomes after TBI is unavailable. Family members play an essential role in supporting women with TBI during the inpatient rehabilitation process, including involvement in decision- making and goal-planning for post-rehabilitation discharge to home. To prepare family members to best support women with TBI following discharge, it is essential to understand how family members are prepared during the inpatient rehabilitation phase. Yet, after discharge, family members report unmet needs, including insufficient education and feeling unprepared to support the person with TBI and manage their care after discharge. To date, no study has focused on the immediate needs of women with TBI and their families during inpatient rehabilitation, limiting knowledge on their experiences and whether and how current interventions could best meet their post-rehabilitation needs. Congruent with the strategic plan of the National Institute of Nursing Research, which seeks to conduct research on the health of individuals and families to improve self- and family-management of care after injury, this study aims to fill a knowledge gap concerning the inpatient rehabilitation phase. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perspectives and expectations of women with TBI's and their families during inpatient rehabilitation regarding preparation to return home from the hospital. This study will use grounded theory, a qualitative methodology, which will allow the researcher to develop a conceptual model explaining the inpatient rehabilitation process, including the development of expectations for discharge. The sample will be composed of 15 to 20 women with TBI and 15 to 20 of their family members. The long-term goal of this study is to inform future research that will develop and test interventions to improve inpatient rehabilitation for women with TBI.