'To be accepted as normal': Public understanding and misconceptions concerning survivors of brain injury

Primary objective: To determine the views held by the general public in Northern Ireland towards survivors of brain injury. Research design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews. Methods and procedures: Interviews were conducted with 16 members of the general public. Ten questions addressed issues...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain injury 2010-01, Vol.24 (4), p.642-650
Main Authors: Linden, M. A., Boylan, A-M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Brain Injuries - epidemiology
Brain Injuries - psychology
brain injury
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Northern Ireland - epidemiology
Prejudice
Public Opinion
Public perceptions
qualitative
Qualitative Research
Survivors - psychology
Young Adult
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Summary:Primary objective: To determine the views held by the general public in Northern Ireland towards survivors of brain injury. Research design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews. Methods and procedures: Interviews were conducted with 16 members of the general public. Ten questions addressed issues such as the role of survivors of brain injury in society, the challenges they face and the characteristics ascribed to them. Main outcomes and results: When asked to describe someone with a brain injury participants typically used negative labels and identified the most common problems as relating to physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. There was a general failure to recognize that brain injury was a 'hidden' disability, with most participants expecting some outward manifestation. Relatively few previous studies have employed a qualitative approach to explore how the public perceives survivors of brain injury. Conclusion: Members of the public have an increasing awareness of the challenges faced by survivors of brain injury. However, in spite of this, perceptions of aggressiveness, dependency and unhappiness were still evident, suggesting potential problems in reintegrating survivors of brain injury with their communities.
ISSN:0269-9052
1362-301X
DOI:10.3109/02699051003601689