Activity resumption after acquired brain injury: the influence of the social network as described by social workers

Background The Social Brain Toolkit, conceived and developed in partnership with stakeholders, is a novel suite of web-based communication interventions for people with brain injury and their communication partners. To support effective implementation, the developers of the Social Brain Toolkit have collaborated with people with brain injury, communication partners, clinicians, and individuals with digital health implementation experience to coproduce new implementation knowledge. In recognition of the equal value of experiential and academic knowledge, both types of knowledge are included in this study protocol, with input from stakeholder coauthors. Objective This study aims to collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize theoretically based implementation targets for the Social Brain Toolkit, understand the nature of these priorities, and develop targeted implementation strategies to address these priorities, in order to support the Social Brain Toolkit’s implementation. Methods Theoretically underpinned by the Nonadoption, Abandonment, Scale-up, Spread, and Sustainability (NASSS) framework of digital health implementation, a maximum variation sample (N=35) of stakeholders coproduced knowledge of the implementation of the Social Brain Toolkit. People with brain injury (n=10), communication partners (n=11), and clinicians (n=5) participated in an initial web-based prioritization survey based on the NASSS framework. Survey completion was facilitated by plain English explanations and accessible captioned videos developed through 3 rounds of piloting. A speech-language pathologist also assisted stakeholders with brain injury to participate in the survey via video teleconference. Participants subsequently elaborated on their identified priorities via 7 web-based focus groups, in which researchers and stakeholders exchanged stakeholder perspectives and research evidence from a concurrent systematic review. Stakeholders were supported to engage in focus groups through the use of visual supports and plain English explanations. Additionally, individuals with experience in digital health implementation (n=9) responded to the prioritization survey questions via individual interview. The results will be deductively analyzed in relation to the NASSS framework in a coauthorship process with people with brain injury, communication partners, and clinicians. Results Ethical approval was received from the University of Technology Sydney Health and Medical Research Ethics Committee (ETH20-5466) on December 15, 2020. Data were collected from April 13 to November 18, 2021. Data analysis is currently underway, with results expected for publication in mid-2022. Conclusions In this study, researchers supported individuals with living experience of acquired brain injury, of communicating with or clinically supporting someone post injury, and of digital health implementation, to directly access and leverage the latest implementation research evidence and theory. With this support, stakeholders were able to prioritize implementation research targets, develop targeted implementation solutions, and coauthor and publish new implementation findings. The results will be used to optimize the implementation of 3 real-world, evidence-based interventions and thus improve the outcomes of people with brain injury and their communication partners. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/35080

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“Teaching how to live”. Social service representatives about the process of leaving homelessness

Praca Socjalna ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0014.1179 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 84-103

Author(s):

Marta Mikołajczyk

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Social Workers ◽

Social Environment ◽

Social Service ◽

Single Mother ◽

Job Support ◽

The Social ◽

Returning Home

In the literature on homelessness, the term ‘leaving homelessness’ is used. However, it is not specified. Intuitively, it is understood as overcoming the crisis of homelessness, leaving the shelter and living in a place where the client can act independently. Doubts are raised, regarding the period of time after which it can be considered that a person has left homelessness. The aim of the article is to show the opinions of practitioners, i.e. social workers, educators, psychologists, staff managing institutions for people without their own shelter on the interpretation of the term “leaving homelessness”. The paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 2018, among 155 practitioners representing 30 institutions (shelters, hostels, single mother houses). It shows that “leaving homelessness” is understood as leaving the shelter and the certainty that the client has been functioning independently in the social environment for at least 7–12 months. At the same time, he/she must have a job, support himself/herself, build a social network, maintaining abstinence. The survey also showed that, according to 38% of respondents, their clients are not interested in “returning home” and rather prefer to be in the shelter. This is related to their addictions, long homelessness and a sense of helplessness.

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Understanding Social Support and Friendship: Implications for Intervention After Acquired Brain Injury

Brain Impairment ◽

10.1375/brim.1.2.151 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 151-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Allison Rowlands

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Support Systems ◽

Acquired Brain Injury ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Human Right ◽

Network Building ◽

The Social ◽

Wide Range

AbstractThis article reviews current literature on social support and friendship, loneliness and social isolation, and discusses these in the context of disability and specifically acquired brain injury. The examination provides a backdrop for considering interventions which aim to promote or regenerate friendships in the lives of people with this injury. The social consequences for individuals who have sustained an acquired brain injury have been well documented and are briefly reviewed. An understanding of the social support and friendship literature, reviewed in this article, is helpful for practitioners in designing interventions in the lives of this group of people, whose limited friendship and social support systems compromise quality of life and inclusion in the community. The article describes interventions that have been attempted to facilitate network building and friendship development for vulnerable or disadvantaged people in a wide range of contexts. The role of informal support systems is also discussed. A critique of these interventions is also presented and the conclusion reached is that while such models are not perfect and are often not rigorously evaluated, it is critical to provide assistance in order to achieve genuine social inclusion of people with acquired brain injury. It is their human right.

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Coproducing Knowledge of the Implementation of Complex Digital Health Interventions for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury and their Communication Partners: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.35080 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa Miao ◽

Emma Power ◽

Rachael Rietdijk ◽

Deborah Debono ◽

Melissa Brunner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Implementation Research ◽

Research Evidence ◽

Digital Health ◽

Acquired Brain Injury ◽

Social Brain ◽

Web Based ◽

The Social ◽

Communication Partners

BACKGROUND The Social Brain Toolkit, conceived and developed in partnership with stakeholders, is a novel suite of web-based communication interventions for people with brain injury and their communication partners. To support effective implementation, the developers of the Social Brain Toolkit have collaborated with people with brain injury, communication partners, clinicians, and individuals with digital health implementation experience to coproduce new implementation knowledge. In recognition of the equal value of experiential and academic knowledge, both types of knowledge are included in this study protocol, with input from stakeholder coauthors. OBJECTIVE This study aims to collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize theoretically based implementation targets for the Social Brain Toolkit, understand the nature of these priorities, and develop targeted implementation strategies to address these priorities, in order to support the Social Brain Toolkit’s implementation. METHODS Theoretically underpinned by the Nonadoption, Abandonment, Scale-up, Spread, and Sustainability (NASSS) framework of digital health implementation, a maximum variation sample (N=35) of stakeholders coproduced knowledge of the implementation of the Social Brain Toolkit. People with brain injury (n=10), communication partners (n=11), and clinicians (n=5) participated in an initial web-based prioritization survey based on the NASSS framework. Survey completion was facilitated by plain English explanations and accessible captioned videos developed through 3 rounds of piloting. A speech-language pathologist also assisted stakeholders with brain injury to participate in the survey via video teleconference. Participants subsequently elaborated on their identified priorities via 7 web-based focus groups, in which researchers and stakeholders exchanged stakeholder perspectives and research evidence from a concurrent systematic review. Stakeholders were supported to engage in focus groups through the use of visual supports and plain English explanations. Additionally, individuals with experience in digital health implementation (n=9) responded to the prioritization survey questions via individual interview. The results will be deductively analyzed in relation to the NASSS framework in a coauthorship process with people with brain injury, communication partners, and clinicians. RESULTS Ethical approval was received from the University of Technology Sydney Health and Medical Research Ethics Committee (ETH20-5466) on December 15, 2020. Data were collected from April 13 to November 18, 2021. Data analysis is currently underway, with results expected for publication in mid-2022. CONCLUSIONS In this study, researchers supported individuals with living experience of acquired brain injury, of communicating with or clinically supporting someone post injury, and of digital health implementation, to directly access and leverage the latest implementation research evidence and theory. With this support, stakeholders were able to prioritize implementation research targets, develop targeted implementation solutions, and coauthor and publish new implementation findings. The results will be used to optimize the implementation of 3 real-world, evidence-based interventions and thus improve the outcomes of people with brain injury and their communication partners. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/35080

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Social Network and Functional Health Status among the Elderly

Global Clinical and Translational Research ◽

10.36316/gcatr.01.0016 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 109-117

Author(s):

Yun Zhang ◽

Hong Zhang

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Health Status ◽

Older People ◽

Social Workers ◽

Daily Living ◽

The Elderly ◽

Functional Health ◽

Functional Health Status ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

The Social

Background: In the absence of adequate public pension benefits, the older people in China have to rely on their social networks for old-age support. However, few empirical studies have been carried out to examine the pattern of social network and their impact on elderly health in China. Methods: Using the data set from two waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) conducted in 2008 and 2014, we examined the characteristics of social network types and their impacts on the health status among the elderly. The dependent variables included the measures of self-rated health (SRH), activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and cognitive score (MMSE). K-means clustering method was used to construct the social network type, which was the primary factor we were interested in examining for association with functional health status. A random-effect regression model was utilized to control for the clustering effects within the observations over time. Results: Four types of the social network were derived among the older people, and they were the diverse network (6.65%), family-focused network (32%), children-focused network (29.89%) and restricted network (31.45%). Compared with the restricted network, the diverse network was associated with the best functional health status and self-rated health among the elderly; the family-focused network was also associated with a better score of ADL, IADL, and MMSE but not significantly with SRH score; and the children-focused network was also associated with a better health status of all measures. Furthermore, social support from family members and friends positively influenced the health status of the elderly. In contrast, having social workers available when needed was associated with the reduced ADL, IADL, and SRH scores. This might be due to that those elderly with the worst health status are in a greater need for support from social workers, and hence, the reverse association may occur. Conclusion: family- and children-focused network were primary types among the older people in China. Consistent with previous studies, while the diverse network was most beneficial for the functional health status in multiple measures, it only accounted for a small proportion; people with the restricted network had the worst health status.

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Training-the-Trainer on Assistive Technology for Cognition (ATC): Current Practices

Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders ◽

10.1044/nnsld23.2.90 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 90-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laurie Ehlhardt Powell ◽

Tracey Wallace ◽

Michelle ranae Wild

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Assistive Technology ◽

Acquired Brain Injury ◽

Online Training ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Train The Trainer ◽

Rehabilitation Professionals ◽

Remote Locations ◽

Training Package ◽

And Training

Research shows that if clinicians are to deliver effective, evidence-based assistive technology for cognition (ATC) services to clients with acquired brain injury (ABI), they first need opportunities to gain knowledge and experience with ATC assessment and training practices (O'Neil-Pirozzi, Kendrick, Goldstein, & Glenn, 2004). This article describes three examples of train the trainer materials and programs to address this need: (a) a toolkit for trainers to learn more about assessing and training ATC; (b) a comprehensive, trans-disciplinary program for training staff to provide ATC services in a metropolitan area; and (c) an overview of an on-site/online training package for rehabilitation professionals working with individuals with ABI in remote locations.

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The social network

Skin & Allergy News ◽

10.1016/s0037-6337(13)70045-7 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

ALAN ROCKOFF

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

The Social

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The Multilevel p2 Model

Methodology ◽

10.1027/1614-2241.2.1.42 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 42-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Bonne J. H. Zijlstra ◽

Marijtje A. J. van Duijn ◽

Tom A. B. Snijders

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Network Data ◽

Mcmc Algorithm ◽

Independent Observation ◽

Single Observation ◽

Multiple Networks ◽

Social Network Data ◽

Multiple Observations ◽

Practical Support ◽

The Social

The p 2 model is a random effects model with covariates for the analysis of binary directed social network data coming from a single observation of a social network. Here, a multilevel variant of the p 2 model is proposed for the case of multiple observations of social networks, for example, in a sample of schools. The multilevel p 2 model defines an identical p 2 model for each independent observation of the social network, where parameters are allowed to vary across the multiple networks. The multilevel p 2 model is estimated with a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm that was implemented in free software for the statistical analysis of complete social network data, called StOCNET. The new model is illustrated with a study on the received practical support by Dutch high school pupils of different ethnic backgrounds.

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