Life goals as a driving force in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: a longitudinal dyadic perspective

ABSTRACT

Background

Traumatic brain injury significantly impacts survivors and their families. Rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury is often complex due to the physical, psychological, and socio-economic problems survivors face. Life goals are considered a motivational factor in rehabilitation.

Objective

The aim was to explore expectations, problems, and strategies for goal setting in survivors of traumatic brain injury and their family caregivers for one-year during rehabilitation.

Methods

A longitudinal qualitative study using dyadic interviews with survivors and family caregivers was carried out at three time points during the first year following traumatic brain injury. Data was analyzed according to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.

Results

Eight survivors of traumatic brain injury and their family caregivers completed 24 interviews. Three themes and one sub-theme were identified: 1) life goals as a driving force (subtheme: dyadic discrepancies and conflicts); 2) conflicts between specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed (SMART) goals and life goals; and 3) changing perceptions of the impact of impairments.

Conclusions

Life goals are important motivation in the rehabilitation process. Health care professionals must integrate life goals and rehabilitation goals (i.e. SMART goals) to decrease barriers and survivor ambivalence about rehabilitation. Involving both survivors and family caregivers in goal setting increases rehabilitation success.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• dyadic
• qualitative longitudinal research
• life goals
• rehabilitation

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank all participants who gave of their time and shared their personal stories. The authors also indebted to the International Workshop for Academic Writing that took place in September 2019 led by Niels Sandholm, Bjørg Christiansen, and Helle Mather at the Inter-University Center, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Consent

All participants gave informed consent to participate in the research.

Ethical considerations

The Danish Data Protection Agency (file no. 2012-41-1420) approved the study, which complies the Helsinki Declaration in terms of anonymity, informed consent, and data security (32). Participants were informed that participation was voluntary, that data would be anonymized, and that withdrawal was possible at any time, with no impact on their treatment or care. Neither interviewer worked at the hospital or municipalities involved and were not involved in patient care.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.