Helping young adult children with traumatic brain injury: the life-world of mothers.

Few scholars have described the personal-social context of the maternal experience of helping young adult children who have survived a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Viewing context as life-world, we used a descriptive phenomenological method to explore the life-world of 7 mothers whose young adult children had suffered a moderate or severe TBI at least 6 months earlier. Conducting three interviews with each mother, we discerned five features of life-world: having a child who survived a TBI as a young adult, perceiving that life has really changed, having sufficient support/feeling bereft of any help, believing that my child is still able, and believing that I can help my child.

Changes in family life perceived by mothers of young adult TBI survivors.

Little is known about changes in family life perceived by mothers of young adult survivors of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A phenomenological method was used to describe the changes that seven mothers of TBI survivors perceived in family life 6 months or more after the TBI. The five basic changes in family life reported by mothers were: getting attention from each other for different reasons now, getting along with each other since the injury, facing new financial hurdles, going our separate ways down this new path, and splitting the family apart against our will.

Mothers' experience of helping young adults with traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: To describe mothers' experience of helping young adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Descriptive.

Methods: A convenience sample of participants from support groups for parents of young adults with TBI met the criteria of engaging in regular interaction or helping their children (aged 20 to 36 years).

Health belief model and reversal theory: a comparative analysis.

Background: In recent years, an increasing number of nurses have demonstrated interest in health behaviour change interventions and research. Despite this heightened enthusiasm, there appears to have been less interest in exploring new and emerging health behaviour change theories.

Aim: The goal of this work is to assist clinicians and researchers to make more informed choices about the use of the Health Belief Model and Reversal Theory in their practice settings and research projects.