title: Accompanying citizen of persons with traumatic brain injury in a community integration project: An exploration of the role.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The APIC (Citizen Accompaniment Project for Community Integration) is an innovative program that seeks to increase the community integration of people with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) by offering the support of an accompanying citizen (AC) in the accomplishment of significant life activities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article aims to better define the AC's role in this process, by underlining the mental health risks they face, the strategies they use, and the impacts the role has on their own lives.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study is based on the analysis of interviews conducted with the AC following the first year of implementation. The data is part of a larger project aimed at the implementation and evaluation of APIC program. The data were analysed according to the rules of thematic content analysis, which encourages grouping main ideas into categories. This is an iterative process allowing for the constant emergence of new categories during the analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Accompaniment is full of joys and positive moments for the AC and participants. However, some difficult situations are encountered and the AC are constantly faced with challenges and constraints. The emerging study themes are as follows: the environment, the characteristics of the person accompanied, the AC's personal limits, and the ambiguities in the accompanier-accompanied relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Five principles drawn from the results will help oversee this practice more efficiently and limit the mental health risks of accompaniers. These findings may permit further development of this type of program for people living with disabilities.
authors.affiliation: Département d'ergothérapie, Université du Québec á Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.|Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur la résilience et la réadaptation communautaire (GIRR) - Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain (CRIR), Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Pierre-Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Therriault
authors.affiliation: Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur la résilience et la réadaptation communautaire (GIRR) - Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain (CRIR), Montréal, Canada.|Sciences infirmières, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.affiliation: Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur la résilience et la réadaptation communautaire (GIRR) - Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain (CRIR), Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Andréanne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guindon
authors.affiliation: Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur la résilience et la réadaptation communautaire (GIRR) - Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain (CRIR), Montréal, Canada.|Sciences infirmières, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Josée
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Levert
authors.affiliation: Programme d'ergothérapie of École de réadaptation of Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.|Centre de recherche Fernand-Séguin, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Briand
authors.affiliation: Programme de Sciences biomédicales Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Michèle
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D062309:Community Integration; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: Traumatic brain injury; citizenship; mental workload; social participation