Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America.
American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Sep 12;13(9):e0203804. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203804. eCollection 2018.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered the signature injury among military service member and Veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom with over 360,000 individuals sustaining a first-time TBI in the military. These service members and Veterans, and their caregiver(s), must navigate multiple health systems and find experts across many fields of expertise to recover and optimize functionality. Twenty-two individuals, 10 caregivers of Veterans with TBI, 12 Veterans with TBI, participated in semi-structured interviews. Responses were coded using NVivo. Participants from both groups reported difficulties finding community supportive services (support groups) in local communities. Most participants identified the need for an advocate or point-person to help guide them to needed services and provide ongoing support in the post-acute health care recovery phase. Caregivers and Veterans desired a more personalized recovery plan from their medical professionals. When describing their ideal health information and services model most identified interactivity and twenty-four-hour availability as essential components. To provide Veterans and caregivers with optimal support and resources to navigate a complicated health services system, advocates and personalized care plans are needed. Future research should examine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of these services.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）被认为是在伊拉克自由行动和持久自由行动中服役的军人和退伍军人的标志性损伤，超过 36 万名军人首次遭受 TBI。这些军人和退伍军人及其照顾者必须在多个医疗系统中进行导航，并找到多个专业领域的专家，以恢复和优化功能。22 名参与者，10 名 TBI 退伍军人的照顾者，12 名 TBI 退伍军人，参加了半结构化访谈。使用 NVivo 对回复进行了编码。来自这两个组的参与者都报告说，他们很难在当地社区找到社区支持服务（支持小组）。大多数参与者认为需要一个拥护者或负责人来帮助他们找到所需的服务，并在急性后医疗康复阶段提供持续支持。照顾者和退伍军人希望他们的医疗专业人员提供更个性化的康复计划。当描述他们理想的健康信息和服务模式时，大多数人认为互动性和 24 小时可用性是必不可少的组成部分。为了向退伍军人和照顾者提供最佳支持和资源，以应对复杂的医疗服务系统，需要倡导者和个性化护理计划。未来的研究应研究这些服务的可行性和成本效益。
