Effectiveness of Support Groups for Caregivers of Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Caregiver burden refers to the collective adverse outcomes of caregiving and its prevalence amongst caregivers of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is amplified by the suddenness of brain injury. This systematic review aimed to determine the effectiveness of support groups for this population.

Methods: Studies were retrieved from the following databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, JSTOR and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

Results: Only two articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria and both studies showed reduced caregiver burden at the end of the support group interventions. Both studies employed online/remote support groups.

Discussion and Conclusion: Social workers should consider the integration of technological advances to address barriers to support group access for caregivers of TBI survivors. More empirical studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of support groups for this population.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• TBI
• support groups
• caregiver burden

Disclosure of conflicts of interest Statement

We have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was not supported by any grant