Who's teaching whom? A study of family education in brain injury

Acquired brain injury affects every aspect of life-cognition, emotional response, physical ability, and behavior. Although the changes affect the person with the brain injury most directly, people who provide care also experience changes. Family members play a critical role in the long-term rehabilitation of a person with a brain injury. The demands involved can deplete the most resourceful of families. Therefore, they must have multiple resources available to them to ensure the best possible outcome for the brain-injured member. A formalized family education program is an important resource in helping family members understand the brain injury and their ability to cope with and assist in the rehabilitation process (Maitz & Sachs, 1995). This article reports a qualitative study that measured the perceptions of 15 families that received an educational program about the care of a person with a brain injury.