The protective mechanisms of first aid training within a school-based program for early adolescents

This thesis was concerned with the protective mechanisms of first aid training in the context of peer support. Using a randomised control trial design the current program of research explores first aid training in the school setting and identifies the key components of effective school-based first aid training programs. In particular, examining whether first aid training and associated knowledge could be protective for early adolescents. This broader framing considered whether first aid impacted on increasing behaviour and attitudes towards helping an injured friend, and reducing personal risk taking and related injury.

Yhteisöllisyys voimavarana yliopisto-opetuksen ja -opiskelun kehittämisessä

A sense of community as a resource for developing university teaching and learning The aim of this doctoral research was to determine how a sense of community can be a resource for developing university teaching and learning. The theoretical background is linked to social sciences, social psychology, university pedagogy and educational sciences. The thesis is comprised of two separate studies. Study I consisted of an action research project in which a model of cooperatively developing a teaching and learning culture was created and tested. The focus of study I was the university pedagogy programme of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The results demonstrated that the theoretical framework and the methods of cooperative learning provide useful tools for developing an academic learning and teaching culture. The approach helps to create a benevolent learning atmosphere. The cooperative learning culture used in the action research project reflected the traditional academic learning culture and also caused a collision between the two cultures. The aim of study II was to determine how Open University students and Bachelor’s degree students experience their teaching-learning environment and the importance of the learning community and peer support to their studies. The results indicated that, with the exception of support from other students, the Open University students experienced their teaching-learning environments on average more positively than the Bachelor’s degree students. According to the Open University students, their own motivation and interest was the most important factor that enhanced studying. Furthermore, the most common factors delaying their studies were their life situation and a lack of time. The sense of community and social relations mainly promoted studying. Open University students experienced that they were supported by their teachers, tutors, other students, the working community, family and hobbies. The research demonstrated that the methods that make good use of communal resources are negotiation of shared goals and rules, working in various small groups, emphasis on shared and individual responsibilities and assessment of the product and the process of learning. The resources of the academic community can be developed if the members of the community develop, in addition to the communal working methods, their communal sensitivity. In other words, they should have an understanding of social psychological and sociological concepts that they can use for observing communal phenomena.

Monimuotoisuus ja esteettömyys : Näkövammaisten asiantuntijoiden työelämäkokemuksia

The purpose of this study is to analyse education, employment, and work-life experiences of visually impaired persons in expert jobs. The empirical data consists of 30 thematic interviews (24 visually impaired persons, 1 family-member of a visually impaired person, 5 persons working with diversity issues), of supplementary articles, and of statistics on the socio-economic status of the visually impaired. The interviewees experiences of education and employment have been analysed by a qualitative method. The analysis has been deepened by reflecting it against the recent discussion on the concept of diversity. The author s methodological choice as a disability researcher has been to treat the interviewees as co-researchers rather than objects of research. Accessibility in its different forms is a prerequisite of diversity in the workplace, and this study examines what kind of accessibility is required by visually impaired professionals. Access to working life depends on the attitudes prejudices and expectations that society has towards a minority group. Social accessibility is connected with internal relationships in the workplace, and achieving social accessibility is a bilateral process. Information technology has revolutionised the visually impaired people s possibilities of accessing information and performing expert tasks. Accessible environment, good mobility skills, and transportation services enable visually impaired employees to get to their workplaces and to navigate there with ease. Integration has raised the level of education and widened the selection of career options for the visually impaired. However, even visually impaired people with academic degrees often need employment support services. Visually impaired professionals are mainly employed in the public and third sector. Achieving diversity in the labour market is a multiactor process. Social support services are needed, as well as courage and readiness from employers to hire people with disabilities. The organisations of the visually impaired play an important role in affecting the attitudes and providing peer support. Visually impaired employees need good professional skills, blindness skills, and social courage, and they need to be comfortable with their disability. In the workplace, diversity may actualise as diverse ways of working: the work is done by using technical aids or other means of compensating for the lack of eyesight. When an employee must find compensatory solutions for disability-related limitations at work, this will also develop his/her problem-solving abilities. Key words: visually impaired, diversity, accessibility, working life

The Relational Self, the Social Bond and the Dynamics of Personal Relationships : A Sociological Analysis

This study analyses personal relationships linking research to sociological theory on the questions of the social bond and on the self as social. From the viewpoint of disruptive life events and experiences, such as loss, divorce and illness, it aims at understanding how selves are bound to their significant others as those specific people ‘close or otherwise important’ to them. Who form the configurations of significant others? How do different bonds respond in disruptions and how do relational processes unfold? How is the embeddedness of selves manifested in the processes of bonding, on the one hand, and in the relational formation of the self, on the other? The bonds are analyzed from an anti-categorical viewpoint based on personal citations of significance as opposed to given relationship categories, such as ‘family’ or ‘friendship’ – the two kinds of relationships that in fact are most frequently significant. The study draws from analysis of the personal narratives of 37 Finnish women and men (in all 80 interviews) and their entire configurations of those specific people who they cite as ‘close or otherwise important’. The analysis stresses the subjective experiences, while also investigating the actualized relational processes and configurations of all personal relationships with certain relationship histories embedded in micro-level structures. The research is based on four empirical sub-studies of personal relationships and a summary discussing the questions of the self and social bond. Discussion draws from G. H. Mead, C. Cooley, N. Elias, T. Scheff, G. Simmel and the contributors of ‘relational sociology’. Sub-studies analyse bonds to others from the viewpoint of biographical disruption and re-configuration of significant others, estranged family bonds, peer support and the formation of the most intimate relationships into exclusive and inclusive configurations. All analyses examine the dialectics of the social and the personal, asking how different structuring mechanisms and personal experiences and negotiations together contribute to the unfolding of the bonds. The summary elaborates personal relationships as social bonds embedded in wider webs of interdependent people and social settings that are laden with cultural expectations. Regarding the question of the relational self, the study proposes both bonding and individuality as significant. They are seen as interdependent phases of the relationality of the self. Bonding anchors the self to its significant relationships, in which individuality is manifested, for example, in contrasting and differentiating dynamics, but also in active attempts to connect with others. Individuality is not a fixed quality of the self, but a fluid and interdependent phase of the relational self. More specifically, it appears in three formats in the flux of relational processes: as a sense of unique self (via cultivation of subjective experiences), as agency and as (a search for) relative autonomy. The study includes an epilogue addressing the ambivalence between the social expectation of individuality in society and the bonded reality of selves.

Tuntemattomista vertaistuttaviksi : Esikoisäitien ja -isien perhevalmennusprosessi Espoon uudentyyppisessä perhevalmennuskokeilussa

From Strangers to Peer Acquaintances Mothers and Fathers with a First Born and their Experiences of the New Family Training Process in Espoo This research is composed of two interrelated case studies. The first case was a family training experiment conducted in the City of Espoo during 2003 2005. In the experiment, the content, duration and procedures were modified from the previous family training policy. The new family training system stressed peer group activities and the peer support formed between the participating mothers and fathers. The second case comprised the stories of 14 parents about the family training process. The aim of the research was to find out whether peer group activities and support was demonstrated between the participating parents during the family training process. The second case and its narrative material constituted the main research material. The narrative material was collected by interviews. Eight mothers and six fathers were interviewed twice within a year between their sessions. The parents also filled in questionnaires about their daily life and participated in a drawing exercise, in which they visualized how they experienced the family training during the antenatal period, labour and the postnatal period. A narrative approach was applied to the analysis of the narrative material. The analysis consisted of several stages. In the final stage, the fathers main story was combined with all the participating fathers personal stories. The mothers main story was also constructed from their personal stories. The study implicated that in some parts the mothers and fathers main stories were similar. During the family training, previously unacquainted parents became peer acquaintances. In particular, the first born as a focus created interaction and cooperation among the parents. Parents in similar circumstances became significant to each other. Different figurations formed during the family training. However, the main stories did not always entwine. The mothers were in contact with the other mothers almost daily using mobile phones, email and mother-child activities. The fathers employed outside home met each other only during the family training meetings, but felt being supported by the other fathers. Some families visited one another outside of the family training. This new type of family training had characteristics typical of the project society. The parents peer activities were based on trust, negotiation and contracts between partners. The parents evaluated the benefits of participation in the family training. If they appreciated the activities with peers and peer compassion, they were willing to participate in the family training during the postnatal period. Keywords: family training, parenthood, motherhood, fatherhood, peer, peer group, peer support, social support, social relationships, figurations, the project society, pastoral power, epistolary power

Huumeriippuvuudesta toipuminen Nimettömien Narkomaanien toveriseurassa

The subjects of this study are Narcotics Anonymous (NA), a non-profit, peer-support-based fellowship, its recovery programme, and the former drug addicts who consider themselves members of the fellowship. The study data consist of episodic interviews (n=24) and questionnaires (n=212). In the collection of questionnaire data, survey research methods had to be applied judiciously. This study analyses NA members background and their substance abuse and treatment history, as well as factors that have contributed to or hindered their bonding with NA. A recovery model is presented that stems from NA s written and oral tradition, and which has been conceptualised into NA s recovery theory. At its simplest, NA s recovery theory can be described in two sentences: 1) There are drug dependent addicts who have an addiction disease. 2) Through an NA way of life, recovery is possible. In this study, addiction and addiction disease are described through recovery stories shared at NA. It also describes how the way of life offered by NA supports recovery from drug addiction, the way of life which recovering addicts have adopted, and how they have done so. The study also presents results that, based on the study data, emerge from participation in the NA programme, and describes how the NA recovery theory works in practice, i.e. how NA members utilise the tools provided by the fellowship and how the lives of recovering addicts change during their membership. Furthermore, this study also discusses criticism of NA. According to the study, NA affects the lives of recovering drug addicts in a number of ways. People of different ages and with a variety of personal, treatment and drug abuse histories seem to benefit from membership of NA. Viewed from the outside, NA may appear as strictly normative, but in practice each member can adapt the programme in a way that suits him/her best. Indeed, flexibility is one of the strengths of NA, but without more extensive knowledge of the fellowship, it is possible that the norms reflected in NA texts or the fanaticism of individual NA members may drive some people away. Due to the increasing number of NA members, the association is also able to provide more alternatives. This study confirms the view that peer support is important, as well as the fact that an official treatment system is required in parallel with peer support activities. NA can never fully replace professional support, neither should it be left with sole responsibility for recovering addicts. Keywords: Narcotics Anonymous, peer support, recovery study, recovery, substance addiction, drug treatment, drugs, explorative research

"Oma entinen on palannut takaisin elämään" : Kuntoutuksen vaikuttavuus aikuisena kuuroutuneiden henkilöiden elämänhallintaan ja psykososiaaliseen hyvinvointiin

Objective The objective of this study was to learn about the psychosocial well-being and life management of Finnish adults with late deafness or hearing loss and to observe the effectiveness of the rehabilitation courses they participated in. Methods For my study I used indicators which were suitable for the evaluation of life management and psychosocial well-being of late-deafened adults. The first part of the study was conducted during 2009 as a questionnaire on three rehabilitation courses in Kopola, a course center of the Finnish Federation of Hard of Hearing. The follow-up study was done at the third period of the courses during 2009 2010. The questionnaire contained both open and structured questions. The questionnaire consisted of five areas concerning life management and psychosocial well-being: sense of coherence (life management), human relations and social support, mood, self-esteem and satisfaction with life. I also asked the participants to reflect on their experiences of group rehabilitation. Results and conclusions The participants consisted of seven women and three men. They were approximately 63 years old and were all retired. Loss of hearing was described to have affected their social life, free time, and in general made their lives more difficult. From the course the participants hoped to gain new skills such as signed speech and lip-reading, uplift their mood, accept their loss of hearing and experience peer support. After the courses they replied that they had more close relations with whom they also were a little more in contact with. More participants were satisfied with e.g. their ability to take care of themselves, their free time, financial situation, family life, mental resources and physical shape. Majority of the participants showed symptoms of depression when the courses started, but at the end of the courses these signs had moderated or disappeared for most of them. The participants felt that during the rehabilitation they had been heard, respected, accepted and been taken care of. The course provided the possibility for confiding, and the discussions gave the participants support and consolidation. In conclusion, the course affected positively on the acclimatization to the hearing loss and the empowerment of the participants. The results of this study can be utilized in disability services, the development of rehabilitation and in the social- and health services of senior citizens.

Pärjätäkseen pitää olla sosiaalinen, aktiivinen ja menestyvä ihminen. Kaikkea hyvää vaan heille, mutta entäs me muut? Vertaistuki Yksinäisyys-nettiryhmässä avunsaajan ja avunantajan näkökulmista.

Yksinäisyyden merkitys hyvinvointia uhkaavana tekijänä on viimeaikoina noussut esiin yhä enenevissä määrin. Yksinäiset korkeakouluopiskelijat ovat erityisen haavoittuvassa elämäntilanteessa, sillä nuoren aikuisen elämään liittyvät erityiset kehitykselliset haasteet. Tärkeää on, että opiskelijat saavat tukea tilanteeseensa, jotta yksinäisyyden kauaskantoisilta vaikutuksilta vältyttäisiin. Vertaistuki voi monen kohdalla olla tärkeää, ja Internet mahdollistaa matalan kynnyksen paikan avun hakemiseen. Tutkielmassani perehdyn Nyyti ry:n ylläpitämään, korkeakouluopiskelijoille tarkoitettuun Yksinäisyys-nettiryhmään, ja siinä esiintyvään vertaistukeen. Erityisen tutkimusasetelmastani tekee vertaistuen tarkastelu sen kaksijakoisuuden kautta: millaisia avunsaajana olemisen ja avunantajana toimimisen tapoja kirjoituksista on löydettävissä, ja miten ne suhteutuvat toisiinsa. Näin voidaan ymmärtää paremmin keskustelijoiden tarpeita ja odotuksia, ja sitä, miten ryhmä pystyy niihin vastaamaan. Aineistoa on tutkittu sisällönanalyysin menetelmin. Näyttäisi siltä, että ryhmään kohdistetaan enemmän odotuksia ja tarpeita kuin mihin se pystyy vastaamaan. Avunsaajana olemisen luokkia oli yhteensä 15, jotka kuvasivat viittä eri ulottuvuutta. Ulottuvuudet olivat kokemuksellisuus, kontrolliodotus, vaikeusaste, suhde tietoon ja odotuksellisuus. Avunantajana toimimisen kohdalla luokkia muodostui kahdeksan, jotka kuvasivat neljää ulottuvuutta. Näitä olivat empatia, eteenpäin suuntaavuus, opastus ja kyseenalaistus. Avunsaajana oleminen hallitsi nettiryhmän keskusteluja, ja sitä kuvastavat tekstit olivat paitsi määrällisesti pidempiä, myös sisällöllisesti rikkaampia. Suhteutettaessa avunsaajan ja avunantajan tapoja toisiinsa havaitaan, että ryhmässä osoitettu tuki pystyy hyvin vastaamaan moniin odotuksiin, mutta toisaalta jokin tuenmuoto saattaa olla päinvastainenkin joidenkin luokkien tarpeille. Voikin olla, että vertaistuesta on keskustelijoille hyötyä tiettyyn tasoon asti, mutta suuri määrä erilaisia tarpeita ja odotuksia tekee mahdottomaksi niihin kaikkiin vastaamisen. Hyvä jatkotutkimuksen aihe olisi haastatteluin selvittää kirjoittajien omia näkemyksiä siitä, mistä kokevat ryhmään kirjoittaessaan hyötyvänsä. Tutkielman keskeisimpiä lähteitä ovat olleet: Weiss, R.S. (1973). Loneliness: the experience of emotional and social isolation, Kraut, R. ym (1998). Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?, Jung, J. (1987) Toward a social psychology of social support., Dennis, C-L. (2003). Peer support within a health care context: a concept analysis.

Living long-term with acquired brain injury in Ireland: towards a counter discourse

Irish literature on Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is very scant and is mainly deficits and/or needs based. The focus is generally on how to manage the short term needs of the younger population with ABI. The starting position of my thesis is that people living long-term with ABI are important participants in developing knowledge about this social phenomenon, living with ABI while accepting that their brain injury does not determine them. Six mature adults with ABI and their six significant others participated in this longitudinal study. Using a narrative approach in interviews, over twenty months, five repeat individual interviews with each of the twelve participants was held. From this I gained an understanding of their lived experiences, their life-world and their experiences of our local public ABI/disability services, systems and discourse. Along with this new empirical data, theoretical developments from occupational therapy, occupational science, sociology, and disability studies were also used within a meta-narrative informed by critical theory and critical realism to develop a synthesis of this study. Social analysis of their narratives co-constructed with me, allowed me generate nuanced insights into tendencies and social processes that impacted and continues to impact on their everyday-everynight living. I discuss in some depth here, the relational attitudinal, structural, occupational and environmental supports, barriers or discrimination that they face(d) in their search for social participation and community inclusion. Personal recognition of the disabled participants by their family, friends and/or local community, was generally enhanced after much suffering, social supports, slow recovery, and with some form of meaningful occupational engagement. This engagement was generally linked with pre-injury interests or habits, while Time itself became both a major aid and a need. The present local ABI discourse seldom includes advocacy and inclusion in everyday/every night local events, yet most participants sought both peer-support or collective recognition, and social/community inclusion to help develop their own counter-discourse to the dominant ABI discourse. This thesis aims to give a broad social explanation on aspects of their social becoming, 'self-sameness' and social participation, and the status of the disabled participants wanting to live 'the slow life'. Tensions and dialectical issues involved in moving from the category of a person in coma, to person with a disability, to being a citizen should not demote the need for special services. While individualized short-term neuro-rehabilitation is necessary, it is not sufficient. Along with the participants, this researcher asks that community health and/or social care planners and service-providers rethink how ABI is understood and represented, and how people with ABI are included in their local communities

Living with acquired brain injury

This study found that natural community supports were comprised of two distinct groupings; firstly immediate families, friends and peer support groups; secondly neighbours and local community groups such as sporting and activity- based organisations and groups. The findings of this study indicate that living with acquired brain injury involves a process where the person moves from acute high intensity health services onto rehabilitative services and then onto re-establishing independent lives. It is evident that smooth transitions and interconnectivity of services are essential in facilitating this recovery process. Instrumental to the recovery is the support of immediate family and close friends, who form people’s immediate natural support network and go a long way towards facilitating individuals in rebuilding their lives. A key finding of this study is that broader natural community supports do not appear to play as central a role in supporting individuals to live independent lives when compared to the role of family and friends. The lack of involvement of broader community groups, in many ways, prompted individuals to contact formal support services. For the majority of participants, independence is facilitated through the combination of immediate natural community supports and formal services. The role of formal support services is key to developing broader community support networks. This study found a blurred division between formal services and broader community support networks. The authors recommended that the role of formal supports services in acting as a bridge between the needs of the individual and the development of meaningful community networks, be formally recognised and further developed. Additionally, they argued that the importance of the role of broader natural community, supports such as those provided by community and sporting groups must be enhanced. Greater awareness of the issues faced by people living with acquired brain injury and its often invisible nature is necessary in this endeavour. The authors stated it is important to recognise that there are multiple issues impacting on independent living and these issues intersect, for instance with age, gender, employment, qualifications and so on. A lack of public awareness of acquired brain injury was found to be a key barrier to independent living, along with issues relating to socialising, access to employment and finances. The findings of this study reflect the complexities of living with acquired brain injury and the need for holistic support that is cognisant of the factors which impact on integration. It is vital that flexible, personalised services are developed which are fit for purpose and meet the needs of not only people with acquired brain injury but also their immediate natural community support network. Recognition of the intersection between immediate/ broader natural community supports and formal services is also key to developing the comprehensive and practical supports required to achieve an independent life. This was a qualitative study and all participants were sourced through Headway, a community based service provider for people with ABI. Data collection was divided into two stages: firstly focus groups, followed by individual interviews. Four focus groups were convened in Cork (2), Dublin (1) and Limerick (1). Each focus group was facilitated by at least two members of the research team and a total of twenty-six individuals participated in the focus groups. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken to guide and inform the second stage of the study; the individual interviews. Ten interviews were undertaken with individuals who presented with ABI in the Cork and Limerick regions.

Health Programming for Clergy: An Overview of Protestant Programs in the United States

The health of clergy is important, and clergy may find health programming tailored to them more effective. Little is known about existing clergy health programs. We contacted Protestant denominational headquarters and searched academic databases and the Internet. We identified 56 clergy health programs and categorized them into prevention and personal enrichment; counseling; marriage and family enrichment; peer support; congregational health; congregational effectiveness; denominational enrichment; insurance/strategic pension plans; and referral-based programs. Only 13 of the programs engaged in outcomes evaluation. Using the Socioecological Framework, we found that many programs support individual-level and institutional-level changes, but few programs support congregational-level changes. Outcome evaluation strategies and a central repository for information on clergy health programs are needed. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Adjusting to Life After Esophagectomy: The Experience of Survivors and Carers

Following surgery for esophageal cancer, patients can experience complex physical, social, and emotional changes. Investigation of these challenges, particularly from the perspective of the patient and his or her carer, has been limited. The current study explored the emotional and cognitive experiences of esophageal cancer survivors and those of their carers, using focus groups conducted with members of a patient support group. Analysis of the patients’ data yielded three themes: coping with a death sentence, adjusting to and accepting an altered self, and the unique benefits of peer support. Analysis of the carers’ data also yielded three themes: the carer as buffer, representations of recovery and recurrence, and normalizing experiences through peer support. Esophageal cancer patients and their carers require holistic support in their efforts to adjust to the social, emotional, and physical consequences of esophagectomy. Peers could be an effective channel for the support of patients and carers.

Stress, coping and burn-out in nursing students

Aim: To explore the relationship between sources of stress and psychological burn-out and to consider the moderating and mediating role played sources of stress and different coping resources on burn-out.

Background: Most research exploring sources of stress and coping in nursing students construes stress as psychological distress. Little research has considered those sources of stress likely to enhance well-being and, by implication, learning.

Method: A questionnaire was administered to 171 final year nursing students. Questions were asked which measured sources of stress when rated as likely to contribute to distress (a hassle) and rated as likely to help one achieve (an uplift). Support, control, self-efficacy and coping style were also measured, along with their potential moderating and mediating effect on burn-out.

Findings: The sources of stress likely to lead to distress were more often predictors of wellbeing than sources of stress likely to lead to positive, eustress states. However, placement experience was an important source of stress likely to lead to eustress. Self-efficacy, dispositional control and support were other important predictors. Avoidance coping was the strongest predictor of burn-out and, even if used only occasionally, it can have an adverse effect on burn-out. Initiatives to promote support and self-efficacy are likely to have the more immediate benefits in enhancing student well-being.

Conclusion: Nurse educators need to consider how course experiences contribute not just to potential distress but to eustress. How educators interact with their students and how they give feedback offers important opportunities to promote self-efficacy and provide valuable support. Peer support is a critical coping resource and can be bolstered through induction and through learning and teaching initiatives. 

Stress, Positive Psychology and the National Student Survey

The aim was to explore the predictive ability of sources of stress and a range of dispositional and coping behaviours on student satisfaction and motivation. Most research exploring sources of stress and coping in students construes stress as psychological distress, with little attempt to consider positive experiences of stress. A questionnaire was administered to 120 first-year UK psychology students. Questions were asked which measured sources of stress when rated as likely to contribute to distress (a hassle) and likely to help one achieve (an uplift). The sources of stress were amended from the UK National Student Survey (NSS, 2011). Support, control, self-efficacy, personality and coping style were also measured, along with their potential affect on
course satisfaction, motivation and feeling part of a learning community. The sources of stress likely to lead to distress were more often significant than sources of stress likely to lead to positive, eustress states. Ironically,
factors one would consider would help students, such as the university support facilities, only did so when rated as a hassle, not as an uplift. Published university league tables draw heavily on student course satisfaction but this negatively correlated with intellectual motivation and feeling part of a learning
community. This suggests course satisfaction alone reveals an incomplete picture of the student experience. Course educators need to consider how course experiences contribute not just to potential distress but to
potential eustress. Teaching quality, effective support and work-life balance are key to student satisfaction and motivation. How educators interact with their students and the opportunities they create in and outside the class to promote peer support are likely to enhance satisfaction and motivation.

“It’s like a problem that doesn’t exist”: The emotional well-being of mothers caring for a child with brain injury.

Background: Although research has shown that significant burden and adverse psychological impact are associated with caring for a child with brain injury, limited knowledge exists concerning the qualitative experience and impact of this burden.
Objective: To provide an account of the experiences of mothers who care for a childhood survivor of brain injury.
Research design: Postal survey.
Methods and procedures: A self-report questionnaire was sent to a consecutive sample of mothers (n=86) of children (aged 8-28) with acquired brain injury, registered with a UK children’s brain injury charity. Five essay style questions enabled mothers to reflect on and describe at length their caring experiences, with particular emphasis placed on the perceived impact on emotional well-being.
Main outcomes and results: Thematic analysis identified five key themes: Perpetually Anxious, The Guilty Carer, The Labour of Caring, A Self-Conscious Apologist and Perpetually Grieving. Collectively, these themes highlight two core processes shaping mothers’ caring experiences and concomitant mental well-being. Firstly, the collective and enduring nature of caregiver burden over time. Second, the crucial role played by socio-cultural values in perpetuating caregiver burden.
Conclusions: Societal norms, particularly those relating to the nature and outcome of brain injury and motherhood, serve to marginalise mothers and increase feelings of isolation. Findings suggest the value of peer support programs as an effective means of providing appropriate social support.