A Home- and Community-Based Neurorehabilitation Program for Pediatric Brain Injury: A Case Series

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurorehabilitation
• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
• Community-Based Healthcare Models

Background:

• Acquired brain injury (ABI) in children presents complex challenges for recovery.
• Traditional neurorehabilitation models may not fully address the needs of pediatric ABI patients in their daily environments.
• Home- and community-based approaches offer a promising alternative for pediatric neurorehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore a home- and community-based neurorehabilitation model for pediatric acquired brain injury (ABI).
• To describe the services provided within this novel rehabilitation program.
• To evaluate the outcomes of children participating in the pilot program.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, secondary data analysis of eight pediatric participants with ABI.
• Interdisciplinary neurorehabilitation services provided at home and in the community (up to 16 hours/week for 12 weeks).
• Assessment using the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory, Fourth Edition (MPAI-4) at admission and discharge.

Main Results:

• All participants reported satisfaction with the neurorehabilitation services.
• Clinically important improvements were observed in MPAI-Ability subscale scores.
• Robust clinically important differences were noted in MPAI-Adjustment and MPAI-Total scores for 87.5% of participants.

Conclusions:

• Home- and community-based neurorehabilitation shows potential for supporting functional recovery in pediatric ABI.
• Significant improvements were achieved across multiple life domains.
• Participation-level outcomes present a persistent challenge requiring further investigation.