A qualitative study of individuals with acquired brain injury' and program facilitators' experiences in virtual acquired brain injury community support programs.

PURPOSE

Acquired brain injury (ABI) community support programs aim to help support long-term needs through informational and psychosocial support. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many support programs adopted virtual program delivery. However, the experiences of facilitators and people with ABI who participate in virtual support programs are understudied. This study aimed to describe the experiences of people with ABI and program facilitators participating in virtual ABI community support programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people with ABI and program facilitators who participated in virtual ABI community support programs. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

In total, 16 participants were included in this study. Of the 16 participants, 14 were people with ABI (three of whom were also program facilitators) and two were program facilitators without ABI. Our analysis generated three themes including perceived benefits (theme 1), perceived challenges (theme 2), and considerations to improve program quality (theme 3). Each theme outlines subthemes relaying the experiences of participants.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the need for stakeholders to implement guidelines and training for program facilitators and attendees of virtual ABI support programs to maximize accessibility, usability, inclusivity and safety.