Community reintegration following acquired brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the interventions and strategies used to enable transition from acute care or post-acute rehabilitation to the community following brain injury.


METHODS
A systematic review of the literature from 1980-2005 was conducted focusing on ABI rehabilitation. Five major aspects of community reintegration, including: independence and social integration, caregiver burden, satisfaction with quality of life, productivity and return to driving were considered.


RESULTS
With the exception of one, the majority of interventions are supported by only limited evidence, denoting an absence of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the literature. Of 38 studies evaluated for this review, only one RCT was found. That RCT provided moderate evidence that behavioural management, coupled with caregiver education, did not help to improve caregiver burden.


CONCLUSIONS
Further research, using an interventional approach, is required to advance the evidence base of reintegration into the community following brain injury.
McCabe
Pat
P
St. Joseph's Health Care London, Ontario, Canada. pat.mccabe@sjhc.london.on.ca
Lippert
Corbin
C
Weiser
Margaret
M
Hilditch
Maureen
M
Hartridge
Cheryl
C
Villamere
James
J
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy; D017028:Caregivers; D019058:Community Networks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000379:methods*; D012917:Social Adjustment