An exploration of family in the context of head injury: a narrative understanding of change
Authors
Secretary, SRRwhiffin, charlotte
Bailey, Christopher
Ellis-Hill, Caroline
Nikki, Jarrett
Peter, Hutchinson J.
Affiliation
University of DerbyUniversity of Nottingham
Bournemouth University
University of Portsmouth
University of Cambridge
Issue Date
2020-02-13
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Traumatic brain injury is potentially devastating. Families commonly respond by supporting the injured individual and their recovery. However, family members are at risk of negative psychological outcomes and family functioning has emerged as a key variable post injury. What is less understood are the subjective changes experienced by families and the impact these have post injury. A longitudinal narrative case study using in-depth narrative qualitative interviews. Data were collected a one, three and 12 months post injury. Nine non-injured family members from three families were recruited from an acute neurosurgical ward. Five interwoven narrative threads were identified: trauma, recovery, autobiographical, suffering and family. The narrative approach emphasized that the first-year post-head injury was a turbulent time for families, who were active agents in the process of change. Families’ stories of illness from a nonpatient perspective need recognition and validation in their own right. understanding this experience in terms of biographical narratives helps to recognize the vacillation between change and continuity. Adopting a narrative approach to rehabilitation may be more positive than adopting a model of loss. Change is not limited to the injured person and family members need help to understand that they too are changing as a result of their experiences. In addition, it is proposed that there be a shift in the discourse in research and practice literature away from loss and towards transition, with greater recognition of the role that uninjured family members play in making sense of change post injury.Citation
Whiffin, C., Bailey, C., Ellis-Hill, C., Jarrett, N. & Hutchinson, P. (2020). 'An exploration of family in the context of head injury: a narrative understanding of change'. Clinical Rehabilitation.Publisher
SAGE PublicationsJournal
Clinical RehabilitationDOI
10.1177/0269215520902499Additional Links
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/CRE/currenthttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269215520902499
Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0269-2155EISSN
1477-0873ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1177/0269215520902499