A qualitative study of individuals with acquired brain injury’ and program facilitators’ experiences in virtual acquired brain injury community support programs
Creators: name: Grewal, Jasleen
name: Nguyen, Sarah Vu
name: Nonis, Nichola
name: Singh, Hardeep
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Information Systems not elsewhere classified
subject: Inorganic Chemistry
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Science Policy
subject: Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Acquired brain injury (ABI) community support programs aim to help support long-term needs through informational and psychosocial support. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many support programs adopted virtual program delivery. However, the experiences of facilitators and people with ABI who participate in virtual support programs are understudied. This study aimed to describe the experiences of people with ABI and program facilitators participating in virtual ABI community support programs. This was a qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people with ABI and program facilitators who participated in virtual ABI community support programs. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. In total, 16 participants were included in this study. Of the 16 participants, 14 were people with ABI (three of whom were also program facilitators) and two were program facilitators without ABI. Our analysis generated three themes including perceived benefits (theme 1), perceived challenges (theme 2), and considerations to improve program quality (theme 3). Each theme outlines subthemes relaying the experiences of participants. These findings highlight the need for stakeholders to implement guidelines and training for program facilitators and attendees of virtual ABI support programs to maximize accessibility, usability, inclusivity and safety. This study described the experiences of people with acquired brain injury and facilitators who participated in virtual support programs.Benefits of virtual support programs include connecting with peers, increased access to resources, and enhanced feasibility and accessibility.Difficulties with virtual support programs include intrapersonal (e.g., increased side effects), interpersonal (e.g., communication barriers), and environmental and contextual (e.g., privacy concerns) challenges.Suggestions to improve program quality include creating a safe and respectful environment, fostering engagement and managing challenging situations, and enhancing accessibility and inclusivity. This study described the experiences of people with acquired brain injury and facilitators who participated in virtual support programs. Benefits of virtual support programs include connecting with peers, increased access to resources, and enhanced feasibility and accessibility. Difficulties with virtual support programs include intrapersonal (e.g., increased side effects), interpersonal (e.g., communication barriers), and environmental and contextual (e.g., privacy concerns) challenges. Suggestions to improve program quality include creating a safe and respectful environment, fostering engagement and managing challenging situations, and enhancing accessibility and inclusivity.