Article

Purpose: To investigate the experiences of participants who attended
communication training programs for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and
their everyday communication partners (CP) as part of a non-randomised controlled
trial. Method: The participants were people with TBI and their CP, who were
family members or carers of the people with TBI. Twenty-six participants (13
participants with TBI and 13 CP) completed the JOINT program, which involved
participants with TBI and CP attending the program together. Fourteen
participants with TBI completed the TBI SOLO training program, which did not
involve the participation of a CP. Semi-structured videotaped interviews were
completed by all participants at the end of the training.
Using a six-step
generic analysis procedure, data were categorised into topics and then subtopics
to identify conceptually discrete units. Results: Participants described
improvements in communication skills, the impact of improved communication
skills, valuable components of the programs and components that needed changes.
Conclusion: The accounts of participants provided additional evidence for the
effectiveness of the training programs, assisted with identifying helpful
components of the training and demonstrated the usefulness of a qualitative
research methodology as part of evaluating the outcomes of the clinical trial. [Box: see text].

Langue : ANGLAIS