A transitional living environment for persons with brain injuries: staff and client perceptions

Given increasing interest in social ecology and the impact of environmental factors upon rehabilitation outcomes, the purpose of this study was to begin to document the characteristics of a particular environment designed to meet the needs of persons with traumatic brain injuries. Staff and clients at the Transitional Living Centre of Kingston, Ontario (TLC), a community based post-acute rehabilitation programme providing both residential and day programmes for adults who have acquired brain injuries participated in this study by completing the Community-Oriented Programme Environment Scale (COPES). While COPES subscale scores for clients and staff were within the average range, the results of a multivariate analysis of variance indicated that client and staff perceptions of the TLC environment differed significantly on two subscales within the Personal Development Dimension (i.e., Personal Problem Orientation, Anger and Aggression) and on one subscale under the System Maintenance Dimension (i.e., Staff Control). The results of this study suggest that future research should consider the impact of staff and client perceptions on the effectiveness of the therapeutic environment of brain injury programmes.