Responding to the ongoing pandemic-related challenges of individuals with brain injury through the perspective of community-service in Canada: A qualitative study.

Objective: To investigate brain injury (BI) associations' perspectives regarding the impacts of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with BI and BI associations services across Canada.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study included 26 representatives of Canadian BI associations that participated in six online focus groups to discuss the effects of the second year of the pandemic on clients living with BI and on the provision of community services.

Results: Findings revealed three main themes: 1) ongoing pandemic-related challenges faced by clients living with BI, including worsening mental health and basic needs insecurities, difficulties faced by clients in adhering to safety measures, and ongoing technological issues; 2) ongoing adaptations to accommodate clients' needs, including offering tailored services, ensuring consistent and transparent safety measures, and providing hybrid services; and 3) developing a sustainable 'new normal' aligned with association mandates and resources by expanding networks and building resilience.

A window into the reality of families living long term with challenging behaviours after a TBI.

Challenging behaviours are a long-term burden for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families. Families frequently shoulder the responsibility alone, but little is known about the strategies they use to manage these behaviours. This study aimed to 1) identify the coping strategies used by people with TBI living in the community and their family caregivers to manage challenging behaviours; and 2) describe the similarities and differences between strategies used by people with TBI and caregivers.

Codevelopment and Deployment of a System for the Telemonitoring of Activities of Daily Living Among Older Adults Receiving Home Care Services: Protocol for an Action Design Research Study.

Background: Telemonitoring of activities of daily living (ADLs) offers significant potential for gaining a deeper insight into the home care needs of older adults experiencing cognitive decline, particularly those living alone. In 2016, our team and a health care institution in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, sought to test this technology to enhance the support provided by home care clinical teams for older adults residing alone and facing cognitive deficits. The Support for Seniors' Autonomy program (SAPA [Soutien à l'autonomie des personnes âgées]) project was initiated within this context, embracing an innovative research approach that combines action research and design science.

Contextual factors of financial capability and financial well-being for adults living with brain injury: a qualitative photovoice study.

Objective: To identify the contextual factors related to financial capability and financial well-being for adults living with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Design & Method: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using photovoice and included 17 adults who live with ABI in Manitoba, Canada. Over 3-to-5 weeks, participants took photos of their financial capability (i.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community-based brain injury associations across Canada: a cross-sectional survey study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created new difficulties for people living with brain injury, their families, and caregivers while amplifying the challenges of community-based associations that support them. We aimed to understand the effects of the pandemic on clients who live with brain injury, as well as on the provision of community brain injury services/programs in Canada.

Methods: Online cross-sectional survey conducted in January 2022.

Understanding the Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Brain Injury Associations Across Canada: A Qualitative Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased challenges for people living with brain injury and community associations to support this vulnerable population. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by brain injury survivors during the first year of the pandemic and how community brain injury associations adapted their services to respond to these needs. Findings from seven focus-group with 31 representatives of Canadian brain injury associations revealed 4 main themes: (1) Addressing evolving client needs; (2) Keeping clients safe; (3) Challenges and opportunities navigating the digital world; and (4) Sustaining brain injury associations in the face of uncertainties and disruptions.

COOK technology to support meal preparation following a severe traumatic brain injury: a usability mixed-methods single-case study in a real-world environment.

Introduction: Following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), meal preparation may become challenging as it involves multiple cognitive abilities and sub-tasks. To support this population, the Cognitive Orthosis for coOKing (COOK) was developed in partnership with an alternative residential resource for people with severe TBI. However, little is known about the usability of this technology to support people with TBI living in their own homes.

Cognitive assistance to support individuals with traumatic brain injury using a minimal and personalised approach: A conversion mixed methods study using video analysis.

Introduction: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently need assistance to manage complex everyday activities. However, little is known about the types of cognitive assistance that can be used to facilitate optimal independence. A conversion mixed method study using video analysis was conducted to describe assistance provided by trained occupational therapists during three everyday tasks carried out in the participants' homes and surrounding environments.

Managing challenging behaviours in adults with traumatic brain injury: A scoping review of technology-based interventions.

Challenging behaviours are one of the most serious sequelae after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These chronic behaviours must be managed to reduce the associated burden for caregivers, and people with TBI. Though technology-based interventions have shown potential for managing challenging behaviours, no review has synthesised evidence of technology aided behaviour management in the TBI population.

"What Services?": Stakeholders' Perceived Unmet Support Needs for Parents With Neurological Disorders.

Knowledge about the needs of parents with neurological disorders who take care of young children is limited. The overall aim of this qualitative study was to explore the perceived unmet parent needs, current supports, and potential solutions to optimize supports of parents with neurological disorders in early childhood in a Canadian setting. Focus groups and individual interviews with parents (  =  8), spouses (  =  5), rehabilitation clinicians (  =  8), community partners (  =  7), and researchers (  =  7) were conducted with a total of 35 participants recruited using convenience sampling.

The dual reality of challenging behaviours: Overlapping and distinct perspectives of individuals with TBI and their caregivers.

Challenging behaviours significantly impact the lives of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their family caregivers. However, these behaviours are rarely defined from the perspectives of both individuals, a necessary step to developing interventions targeting meaningful goals for individuals and caregivers. This study aimed to (1) explore and confirm the perspective of individuals with TBI living in the community and their family caregivers on behaviours they consider challenging and, (2) identify overlapping or distinct views on challenging behaviours.

Babycare Assistance Needs of Parents With Physical Disabilities: An Observational Study.

The assistance needs of parents with physical disabilities have been widely underexamined. This qualitative observational study described the assistance needs of parents with physical disabilities during the performance of in-home babycare activities. Thirty-one parents were assessed by trained occupational therapists using the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Profile adapted for use with parents, an ecological performance-based assessment that considers executive functioning.

Use of smartphones and tablets after acquired brain injury to support cognition.

Objectives: To describe the use of mobile devices after acquired brain injury (ABI), from the perspectives of injured individuals and significant others, and to examine factors associated with mobile device use for cognition.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with 50 adults with moderate/severe traumatic brain injury or stroke (42% women; mean of 50.7 years old, 4.

Element- and enantiomer-selective visualization of molecular motion in real-time.

Ultrafast optical-domain spectroscopies allow to monitor in real time the motion of nuclei in molecules. Achieving element-selectivity had to await the advent of time resolved X-ray spectroscopy, which is now commonly carried at X-ray free electron lasers. However, detecting light element that are commonly encountered in organic molecules, remained elusive due to the need to work under vacuum.

Parenting with a physical disability: A scoping review of assessment methods.

Introduction: Daily childcare can be challenging for parents with a physical disability who have young children. Occupational therapists are valuable facilitators to family participation. However, occupational therapists have reported significant gaps in knowledge when documenting the parenting role of parents with a physical disability in occupational therapy practice.

Development of an Assistive Technology for Cognition to Support Meal Preparation in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: User-Centered Design Study.

Background: Although assistive technology for cognition (ATC) has enormous potential to help individuals who have sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) prepare meals safely, no ATC has yet been developed to assist in this activity for this specific population.

Objective: This study aims to conduct a needs analysis as a first step in the design of an ATC to support safe and independent meal preparation for persons with severe TBI. This included identifying cooking-related risks to depict future users' profiles and establishing the clinical requirements of the ATC.

Amide Spectral Fingerprints are Hydrogen Bonding-Mediated.

The origin of the peculiar amide spectral features of proteins in aqueous solution is investigated, by exploiting a combined theoretical and experimental approach to study UV Resonance Raman (RR) spectra of peptide molecular models, namely -acetylglycine--methylamide (NAGMA) and -acetylalanine--methylamide (NALMA). UVRR spectra are recorded by tuning Synchrotron Radiation at several excitation wavelengths and modeled by using a recently developed multiscale protocol based on a polarizable QM/MM approach. Thanks to the unparalleled agreement between theory and experiment, we demonstrate that specific hydrogen bond interactions, which dominate hydration dynamics around these solutes, play a crucial role in the selective enhancement of amide signals.

Interfacial Water and Microheterogeneity in Aqueous Solutions of Ionic Liquids.

In this work, aqueous solutions of two prototypical ionic liquids (ILs), [BMIM][BF] and [BMIM][TfO], were investigated by UV Raman spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in the water-rich domain, where strong heterogeneities at mesoscopic length scales (microheterogeneity) were expected. Analyzing Raman data by a differential method, the solute-correlated (SC) spectrum was extracted from the OH stretching profiles, emphasizing specific hydration features of the anions. SC-UV Raman spectra pointed out the molecular structuring of the interfacial water in these microheterogeneous IL/water mixtures, in which IL aggregates coexist with bulk water domains.

Smart Assistive Technology for Cooking for People With Cognitive Impairments Following a Traumatic Brain Injury: User Experience Study.

Background: User experience (UX), including usability, should be formally assessed multiple times throughout the development process to optimize the acceptability and integration of a new technology before implementing it within the home environment of people living with cognitive impairments.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify UX issues, notably usability issues, and factors to consider for the future implementation of the COOK (Cognitive Orthosis for Cooking) within the home of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to identify modifications to improve the technology.

Methods: This study comprised two rounds of UX evaluations, including extensive usability testing, which were completed in a laboratory context: 3 sessions with 5 experts and, after improvement of COOK, 2 sessions with 10 participants with TBI.

Clinical reasoning underlying acute care occupational therapists' assessment of rehabilitation potential after stroke or brain injury: A constructivist grounded theory study.

Introduction: In acute care hospitals, clinicians are expected to rapidly provide recommendations regarding patients' rehabilitation potential and candidacy for postacute rehabilitation. Some studies have investigated factors influencing referral to rehabilitation, but few have examined clinical reasoning underlying referral decisions. This study aimed to investigate what occupational therapists were thinking about (factors influencing reasoning), how they reasoned (thought processes) when evaluating stroke or traumatic brain injury patients' rehabilitation potential, and how they decided on referral to postacute rehabilitation.

Implementation of an assistive technology for meal preparation within a supported residence for adults with acquired brain injury: a mixed-methods single case study.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of implementing an assistive technology for meal preparation called COOK within a supported community residence for a person with an acquired brain injury.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, a multiple baseline single-case experimental design and a descriptive qualitative study were conducted. The participant was a 47-year-old woman with cognitive impairments following a severe stroke.

Providing Verbal Assistance When Assessing Individuals Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury.

Occupational therapists play a major role in identifying the assistance needs of individuals living with a traumatic brain injury. However, to obtain an accurate assessment, verbal assistance should be provided only when necessary, according to the person's needs. This study aimed to understand (1) how verbal assistance is provided during an evaluation of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and (2) why it is provided in this manner.

Factors influencing clinicians' referral or admission decisions for post-acute stroke or traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: A scoping review.

Demand for post-acute stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation outweighs resource availability. Every day, clinicians face the challenging task of deciding which patient will benefit or not from rehabilitation. The objectives of this scoping review were to map and compare factors reported by clinicians as influencing referral or admission decisions to post-acute rehabilitation for stroke and TBI patients, to identify most frequently reported factors and those perceived as most influential.