Wellbeing of Children with Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury affects elderly people as well as kids under 19 years. Given that brain injury affects motor skills and emotions, a medical program needed to know how to assist young people with brain injuries, as well as their families, as the youth transition into adulthood. The medical team sought input through a qualitative study. This involved the use of open-ended questions where people can give their own responses rather than ticking pre-determined boxes (“closed questions”) that you see in typical surveys.

Qualitative research methods are used when we need to better understand how individuals make sense of their experiences. Large surveys can only tell us how many people hold a specific opinion, but it cannot delve into why they think a particular way, how that opinion was formed, and under what circumstances (or caveats) this might change.

Dr. Julie Haarbauer-Krupa, the practitioner leading the brain trauma program says: “Analysis of qualitative data allowed us to better identify specific parent and teen concerns. In addition to the convenience of online surveys [it was] so helpful to have an independent assessment of our program.”

The study: http://buff.ly/ZdREZn Image: http://buff.ly/ZdRFfC #socialscience #sociology #qualitativeresearch #medical #braininjury