Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses

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    An investigation of family-centred service in the rehabilitation of paediatric acquired brain injury
    Jenkin, Taylor Rae ( 2022)
    Paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) can have significant impacts on children, adolescents, and their families. Family-centred service is considered best practice in paediatric rehabilitation and emphasises the importance of supporting families and involving them in care planning, implementation, and evaluation. However, there are varied definitions and approaches to delivering family-centred service, family needs are often unrecognised and unmet in rehabilitation, and there is a lack of research evidence informed by the lived experience of families. The aim of this program of research was to develop a better understanding of family-centred service within paediatric ABI rehabilitation. The first part of this project was a scoping review of programs involving the families of children/adolescents with ABI. Information about the programs was synthesised to develop an understanding of how families are involved in ABI rehabilitation programs. The second part of this project explored subjective experiences of family-centred rehabilitation from the perspectives of children and adolescents with ABI, their families, and rehabilitation clinicians. Two qualitative studies were conducted in the context of a state-wide paediatric rehabilitation service. Across the two studies, thirteen rehabilitation clinicians, ten parents/caregivers, five siblings, and four children/adolescents with ABI participated in semi- structured interviews, and data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methods. The findings yielded three manuscripts, one of which has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, with the remaining two submitted to journals and currently under review. Collaboration between clinicians and families during rehabilitation was identified as central to family-centred service, with participants reflecting on how this collaboration changes over time. The importance of clinicians developing an understanding of families and their unique lives following paediatric ABI was highlighted, as was the value of hearing children’s and adolescents’ voices during rehabilitation. The key role of clinicians was also emphasised, and participants recognised that the implementation of family-centred service requires active input and facilitation from clinicians. The findings contribute novel insights into family-centred service within paediatric ABI rehabilitation, with practice recommendations to support the implementation of this approach in practice. Keywords: