The purpose of this study is to illuminate the changeover process experienced by people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to increase the understanding of the process of social recognition aroused after injury.
Persons who have acquired TBI have been interviewed (in-depth) using an interview-guide. Informants were in total 15, aged 28-56. Data were first structured and analysed by latent-content analysis with a hermeneutic approach, and later re-contextualised within a matrix construct from theories of social recognition.
The results were in the first step structured into six themes: meaning of care, meaning of action, autonomy, social interaction, theme of changes, emotions, and in the next step re-described in terms of social recognition, i.e. the individual dimension, the legal dimension and the value dimension.
Conclusions: Significant others have had an important function as a driving force for life-situation after injury. Informants were initially satisfied with support from society. The recovery was a prolonged process, probably never ending. According to the theories of social recognition:
(I) The individual dimension is principally connected to the individuals’ experiences of their primary-relations, e.g. next of kin.
(II) The legal dimension is closely associated to rules and regulations in society, e.g. disability rights.
(III) The value dimension is related to standards and value-system in society, e.g. solidarity.
2008.
21st World Congress of Rehabilitation International, Quebec City, Canada, 25-28 August, 2008.