Couples' Experiences of Inpatient Neurorehabilitation v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Partnership Experiences of Inpatient Neurorehabilitation for Acquired Brain Injury: An Interpretative Qualitative Analysis
IRAS ID
290507
Contact name
Emma Godfrey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 20 days
Research summary
People who experience a moderate or severe brain injury often see many changes to the abilities they had before the injury. They may find it more difficult to communicate or express themselves; they may experience changes in their emotions and personality; and they may need support from someone to go about daily life. For somebody in a relationship, these consequences often mean big changes to their experience of being a couple, with the stress and strain often leading to separation or divorce. If someone receives inpatient rehabilitation after the injury to help recover some of their functioning, living separately to their partner and having much less contact or private time together may add more pressure to the relationship.
This study interviews both members of a couple who are going through this inpatient rehabilitation after a brain injury. Each participant will be interviewed once, with the interview taking approximately 1 hour. This will help us gain a detailed understanding of what the experience is like for them as a couple, and what changes to the relationship might have happened during this time. These interviews will be analysed to see if there are any common underlying themes to these experiences, both within a couple and between different couples. The objective is that if we gain a better understanding of what this experience is like, we may be able to provide better support for couples at this early time after a brain injury. This might then have a positive effect on their relationship quality down the line.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0015
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion