An odyssey: families' experiences living with acquired brain injury

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dc.contributor.authorKarpa, Jane
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeRoger, Kerstin (Community Health Science) Heinonen, Tuula (Social Work) Spiers, Jude (University of Alberta, Faculty of Nursing)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorChernomas, Wanda (College of Nursing)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-16T15:22:36Z
dc.date.available2019-09-16T15:22:36Z
dc.date.issued2019en_US
dc.date.submitted2019-09-14T17:05:14Zen
dc.degree.disciplineApplied Health Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)en_US
dc.description.abstractNotoriously known as the ‘silent epidemic’, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) has reached worldwide epidemic proportions. While ABIs are manifested in individuals, families’ lives are dramatically affected by ABIs. These post ABI changes can directly impact individuals’ and families’ experiences and include a sense of loss. To date, the majority of evidence on how ABI affects families has been provided by examining individual family members who present their views of the “family perspective”. The science on ABI and families is limited in examining the family group perspective of their experiences living with ABI. The purpose of this research study was to examine families’ experiences living with ABI. This narrative inquiry study, informed by the life-stage approach of Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach and Zilber, and the narrative analysis model by Riessman, and guided by ambiguous loss theory, used a research approach that included both the affected individual family member and the family together as a family group. Transactional data were collected through individual family group face-to face interviews with six different families. Data were also collected through ethnographic methods. Data analysis included an in-depth within case analysis and an across case analysis to identify themes that reflected families’ experiences living with ABI. Centered on the life stages of before the ABI event, now living with the ABI, and the future, thematic findings included: Families, a grounding force; Losses, individual and family; Family adaptive capacities; Experiences with the health care system-hospital to home; and A patchwork future-entering the unknown. The thematic findings from this study affirmed the significant impacts of ABI on individual and family members and acknowledged ABI as an ambiguous loss event. However, the findings also illuminated families’ strengths and resiliencies in coping with living with ABI. The study findings suggest minimal supports exist for families impacted by ABI and health care professionals need to acknowledge and attend to the entire family system and not just the individual and primary care giver. The study results suggest by THINKING FAMILY health care professionals can contribute towards a health care model that focuses on ‘family’ as the central unit of care.en_US
dc.description.noteOctober 2019en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/34281
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectacquired brain injuryen_US
dc.subjectfamily researchen_US
dc.subjectfamiliesen_US
dc.subjectexperiencesen_US
dc.subjectambiguous lossen_US
dc.subjecthealth careen_US
dc.titleAn odyssey: families' experiences living with acquired brain injuryen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
local.subject.manitobayesen_US
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