title: Writers' award winner experiences of family members acting as primary caregivers for patients with traumatic brain injury.
abstract: Research on caregiving experiences of families of patients with traumatic brain injuries has been limited to studies emphasizing negative aspects of care. During this study, families caring for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) shared their experiences, allowing us to collect basic data about factors related to their psychosocial adjustment. Fifteen primary caregivers were interviewed using semistructured interviews, and content analysis was performed on obtained data. One thousand eighteen recording units were grouped into seven categories: (1) spending time with the patient with TBI and understanding invisible disabilities, (2) evaluating medical professionals' handling of the case, (3) devoting oneself to caring for the patient with TBI despite feeling psychological distress, (4) accepting the disability and constructing a care system, (5) seeking out and participating in specialized treatment (rehabilitation) for TBIs, (6) hoping for better understanding and creation of an appropriate response system for TBIs, and (7) making efforts to influence people around the caregiver and those in similar circumstances to promote deeper understanding of TBIs.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Nishikamata, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan. ishikawa@hs.teu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Fumiyo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Sumie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okumiya
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D022143:Family Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019145:Rehabilitation Nursing