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Healthcare Consumers' Need for Brain-injury Services: The Critical Importance of Timing in Planning Future Services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2013

Anna O'Callaghan ,
Lindy McAllister  and
Linda Wilson
Anna O'Callaghan*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Lindy McAllister
Affiliation:
Assoc. Prof. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Linda Wilson
Affiliation:
Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Anna O'Callaghan, Division of Speech Pathology, School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. E-mail: a.ocallaghan2@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Developing an awareness of the preferences of healthcare consumers is essential in determining the ‘reality’ of service provision, in planning the provision of brain-injury services and in service evaluation. Consumers should be given the opportunity to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the services they receive, offering their perceptions of barriers to service access, which could be removed once known. This article presents narratives of the healthcare journeys of three adults with a moderate to severe brain injury. The experiences of these participants were elicited through in-depth interviews. The aim of this article is to convey how the needs and experiences of adults with brain injury change throughout time, affecting their ability to access care over time. Previous research by the authors of this paper identified five factors that affect consumers’ experiences of care: acceptance and readiness, support, advocacy, the right service at the right time and mismatched expectations. The fluidity and interaction of these factors through time is demonstrated in this article as facilitating and impeding access to services. The implications for clinicians in considering these factors when planning services for adults with moderate to severe brain injuries are explored.

Keywords

rehabilitationconsumers’ preferencesbest practicetiming
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , December 2012 , pp. 316 - 332
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013

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