Experiences from a communication training programme of paid carers in a residential rehabilitation centre for people with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the impact of a communication training programme by exploring the experiences of paid carers who attended the programme in a residential rehabilitation centre for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Method: Five paid carers attended a communication training programme which comprised 17 hours (across 8 weeks). Semi-structured interviews were conducted pre- and post-training. Analysis used a generic procedure with constant comparative analysis to identify categories across and within interview transcripts.

Results: Paid carers described improved knowledge and use of strategies, improved communication, positive emotional experiences and barriers and facilitators to consider for future communication training programmes.

Conclusion: Training communication skills of paid carers in a residential rehabilitation centre had a positive impact on their conversations with people with TBI. These positive changes support quantitative findings for the effectiveness of communication training.

• Brain injury
• communication
• communication partners
• qualitative
• semi-structured interviews
• training

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff and clients of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, particularly those who participated in this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.