Exploring postinjury living environments for children and youth with acquired brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To explore and describe the extent to which children and youth (10-18y) with acquired brain injury in Ontario are living in environments considered inappropriate, to describe the nature of services and supports in those environments, and to determine appropriate living environments for children and youth with acquired brain injury.


METHODS
A mixed-methods approach with a case-study design was used in which the living environment represented the case. This article reports on the qualitative component.


METHODS
Community agencies and service providers.


METHODS
Forty-four service providers across a wide range of profit and nonprofit services for children and youth with acquired brain injury throughout the province of Ontario.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Semistructured in-depth interviews with participants.


RESULTS
Seven major themes emerged from the data: kids go home, a continuum of appropriateness, show me the way home, same chapter different story, cracking the acquired brain injury code, who said care was fair, and coping, and managing and advocating: new dimensions for families. Important service recommendations were also reported.


CONCLUSIONS
Most children and youth with acquired brain injury are living at home. The level of appropriateness of the environment for children and youth after acquired brain injury can depend on multiple interrelated factors including type and severity of acquired brain injury, existing services and service delivery, acquired brain injury knowledge, and family's ability to cope and manage.
DeMatteo
Carol A
CA
CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. dematteo@mcmaster.ca
Cousins
Martha A
MA
Lin
Chia-Yu A
CY
Law
Mary C
MC
Colantonio
Angela
A
Macarthur
Colin
C