Social inclusion of persons with moderate head injuries: The points of view of adolescents with brain injuries, their parents and professionals

Primary objective: This study explores the perceptions of adolescents, their parents and professionals as to the social inclusion of adolescents who have suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research design: Exploratory descriptive qualitative study. Methods and procedures: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three adolescents who had suffered a moderate TBI and with their parents. In addition, a focus group was conducted with four professionals. Main outcomes and results: The results show that the perceptions of adolescents, as well as their parents, affect different aspects of their lives, such as the adolescent's personal experiences, the family, friends, the environment and school. A great number of repercussions were indeed noted, which facilitate and sometimes limit the social inclusion of these adolescents. In general, the professionals shared the same perceptions, but added some ideas that did not come up in interviews with the adolescents and their parents. Conclusions: The results of this study should enable health professionals to better understand the social inclusion experienced by these people. They should also provide professionals with guidelines on how to better support the social inclusion of adolescents with TBIs and help families cope with this difficult situation.