Hopeful adaptation after acquired brain injury

The case of late referrals in the Netherlands

Bibliographic Data

ID4597378
AuthorsLouise Meijering (0000-0003-0430-5373, University of Groningen, corresponding author), Ant T Lettinga (University Medical Center Groningen), Ant Lettinga
Year2022
Volume293
Pages114651
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114651
PMID34915241
OpenAlexW4200087484
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited23

A substantial number of people with 'mild' acquired brain injury (ABI) suffer from cognitive impairments that are not immediately acknowledged as such. Some are eventually referred to multidisciplinary rehabilitation care after months or years of suffering, which is why we have labelled them 'late referrals'. The aim of this paper is to add to the discussion on hopeful adaptation by focussing on the diverse adaptive strategies of late referrals. Hope is typically discussed as a positive emotion that can contribute to transformative processes, but that is also mirrored by despair. We conducted in-depth interviews with ten late referrals in the Netherlands. Our findings demonstrate that the trajectories of late referrals are characterised by wandering and navigating. Wandering is predominantly associated with feeling lost, and not knowing where one is going. While navigating is more purposeful, we found that our participants sometimes navigated in directions that turned out to be dead-end streets. We conclude that hopeful adaptation encompasses a circuitous way of trying and adapting and trying again. As a key recommendation for practice, we suggest that people with cognitive problems due to mild ABI should be supported in reducing the complexities of their everyday lives by taking up challenges one place at a time

Acquired brain injury · Adaptation (eye · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Multidisciplinary approach · Psychiatry · Sociology · Transformative learning · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychology · Social Psychology · Traumatic Brain Injury Research · Rehabilitation

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