Meaningful Experiences of Community-Based Support Workers for Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury

Abstract

Support workers hold a variety of roles and responsibilities when supporting individuals with Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI), yet research on the experience and meaning of being a support worker for individuals with ABI in the community setting is scarce. The present study explored the first-hand accounts of community-based support workers and their meaningful experiences of providing support for individuals with ABI. The guiding research question was: What is the experience of support workers who support youth and young adults with ABI in the community setting? Five female support workers, ranging in age from 21 to 28 years, participated in individual semi-structured interviews. The data were transcribed and analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009), revealing five themes: (i) forming the relationship; (ii) personalizing support; (iii) making a difference; (iv) growing personally; and (v) becoming politically and socially aware. The present study provided a valuable contribution to the limited literature on support workers’ experiences supporting youth and young adults with ABI in the community setting by illuminating the many roles of a support worker and by providing insight into the qualities that give support work meaning. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.