Youth and young adults with acquired brain injury transition towards work-related roles: a qualitative study

<p><b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of youth and young adults with acquired brain injury as they transition towards work-related roles. Little is known about employment experiences among this age group. Understanding their perspectives can inform programs and clinical practice.</p> <p><b>Materials and methods:</b> A descriptive qualitative design, including semi-structured interviews with 14 participants (8 females; 6 males) was used. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an open-coding, thematic approach.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Three major themes emerged related to the experience of work-related roles: (1) getting to know the new me; (2) navigating support systems; and (3) taking control of my experience. Some participants used coping strategies to acquire and/or maintain work-related roles, while others felt limited by their condition.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> A variety of work-related roles, people, and environments directly and indirectly influenced the work-related transition of youth and young adults with acquired brain injury. Individuals expressed the importance of acquired brain injury awareness in informing others about their impairments. In fact, a lack of acquired brain injury awareness was often a main reason for receiving less than adequate support and accommodations. Without an understanding of acquired brain injury, people in the lives of these individuals were unable to perceive the legitimacy of acquired brain injury-related impairments.Implications for rehabilitation</p><p>The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of youth and young adults with acquired brain injury as they transition into work-related roles. Using these experiences as a guideline can promote acquired brain injury awareness, and contribute to how current interventions are designed and delivered.</p><p>Clinicians should ensure that youth and young adults with acquired brain injury have access to the resources they need to maximize their independence.</p><p>Healthcare professionals can play a pivotal role in relaying important acquired brain injury-related education, implementing suitable treatment plans, and providing them with effective tips to help them through their transition.</p><p>A healthy transition to work-related roles should include ample social support and communication, acquired brain injury-related information that informs the community of acquired brain injury impairments, needs, and recovery trajectory, as well as adequate and consistent coordination within and between the person and the environment.</p><p></p> <p>The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of youth and young adults with acquired brain injury as they transition into work-related roles. Using these experiences as a guideline can promote acquired brain injury awareness, and contribute to how current interventions are designed and delivered.</p> <p>Clinicians should ensure that youth and young adults with acquired brain injury have access to the resources they need to maximize their independence.</p> <p>Healthcare professionals can play a pivotal role in relaying important acquired brain injury-related education, implementing suitable treatment plans, and providing them with effective tips to help them through their transition.</p> <p>A healthy transition to work-related roles should include ample social support and communication, acquired brain injury-related information that informs the community of acquired brain injury impairments, needs, and recovery trajectory, as well as adequate and consistent coordination within and between the person and the environment.</p

Everyday functioning among older adults with subjective cognitive decline: a scoping review

Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) experience cognitive difficulties without objectively measurable cognitive impairments but which may affect their everyday functioning. However, everyday functioning in this population has not yet been characterized. We sought to describe the empirical literature on the everyday functioning of community-dwelling older adults with SCD, their recruitment methods, and the measurements used. A scoping review was conducted for primary research articles including at least one measure of everyday functioning. Retrieved records were independently screened. Data were extracted then analyzed using descriptive statistics and summative content analysis. 6544 studies were screened; 21 studies were included. All were observational analytic studies. Most compared an SCD group with a group of healthy control (47.6%), mild cognitive impairment (71.5%), and/or dementia (33.3%). Subjective cognition was measured via interview (28.6%) or clinical question(s) (14.3%). Normal cognition was determined by a wide variety of cognitive tests. The most studied everyday functioning domain was instrumental activities of daily living (90.5%). Most studies used questionnaires (81.0%), and measured ability to do an everyday life task (76.2%). More research is needed on everyday functioning other than IADL, with greater focus on measures that consider an individual’s real-life participation. These is heterogeneity in the operational definitions and reporting of subjective cognitive decline in the empirical literature.Assessment of everyday functioning in the empirical literature on people with subjective cognitive decline is focused on the individual’s ability to do instrumental activities of daily living.There is a need for consensus on: (1) standards to assess subjective and objective cognition in determining subjective cognitive decline; and (2) best practice in assessing changes in everyday functioning in people with subjective cognitive decline.Clinical and research assessment of older adults with subjective cognitive decline should be expanded to functional domains other than instrumental activities of daily living. These is heterogeneity in the operational definitions and reporting of subjective cognitive decline in the empirical literature. Assessment of everyday functioning in the empirical literature on people with subjective cognitive decline is focused on the individual’s ability to do instrumental activities of daily living. There is a need for consensus on: (1) standards to assess subjective and objective cognition in determining subjective cognitive decline; and (2) best practice in assessing changes in everyday functioning in people with subjective cognitive decline. Clinical and research assessment of older adults with subjective cognitive decline should be expanded to functional domains other than instrumental activities of daily living.</p

Developing and Field Testing a Community Based Youth Initiative to Increase Tuberculosis Awareness in Remote Arctic Inuit Communities

<div><p>Background</p><p>Inuit in Canada have the highest reported tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate in Canada, even higher than other Canadian Indigenous groups. The aim of this study was to increase TB awareness among Inuit youth and their communities by equipping those who can best reach this population with a community based, youth focused, education initiative built on interventions adapted from a previous TB awareness study.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The Taima TB Youth Education Initiative was a field test case study of a knowledge translation (KT) strategy aimed at community members who provide health education in these communities. In the first stage of this study, interventions from a larger TB awareness campaign were adapted to focus on youth living in remote Inuit communities. During the second stage of the study, investigators field tested the initiative in two isolated Inuit communities. It was then applied by local implementation teams in two other communities. Evaluation criteria included feasibility, acceptability, knowledge uptake and health behavior change.</p><p>Results</p><p>Implementation of the adapted KT interventions resulted in participation of a total of 41 youth (19 females, 22 males) with an average age of 16 years (range 12–21 years) in four different communities in Nunavut. Community celebration events were attended by 271 community members where TB messaging were presented and discussed. All of the health care workers and community members surveyed reported that the adapted interventions were acceptable and a useful way of learning to some extent. Knowledge uptake measures indicated an average TB knowledge score of 64 out of 100. Local partners in all four communities indicated that they would use the Taima TB Youth Education Initiative again to raise awareness about TB among youth in their communities.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The TB awareness interventions adapted for the Taima TB Youth Education Initiative were acceptable to the Inuit communities involved in the study. They resulted in uptake of knowledge among participants. Implementation by local implementation teams was feasible as evidenced by the participation and attendance of youth and community members in all communities. The ability to implement the interventions by local implementation teams indicates there is potential to scale up in other remote communities in the arctic setting.</p></div

Participating Communities.

<p>Participating Communities.</p

Youth participants.

<p>Youth participants.</p

Community Engagement.

<p>Process by which community leadership was engaged for this study.</p

Barriers to application of original research interventions.

<p>Barriers to application of original research interventions.</p

Additional file 1: of A knowledge translation intervention to enhance clinical application of a virtual reality system in stroke rehabilitation

Description of data: E-learning module learning objectives Module 1: “Introduction to the GestureTek VR system. (DOCX 14 kb

Pre module, post module and post study confidence ratings.

<p>Pre module, post module and post study confidence ratings.</p

Participant and client demographics.

<p>Participant and client demographics.</p