A descriptive portrait of human assistance required by individuals with brain injury

Abstract

Background: Human assistance is a counterweight to disabilities for people living with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there is no clear description of the human assistance used by this population in relation with specific life habits (LH).Objectives: (1) to describe the proportion of LH performed with human assistance; (2) to explore the characteristics of TBI persons with greater needs for human assistance; (3) to clarify the categories of LH for which persons with TBI need human assistance; and (4) to determine the relationship between the human helper and the person with TBI across different residential settings.Method: One hundred and thirty-six individuals with moderate or severe TBI were interviewed using the LIFE-H.Results: Human assistance is used to perform one out of three LH. A greater need for human assistance was associated with the number of impairments, motor limitation to the upper limbs, hemiplegia and receiving public insurance. Human assistance was used more often to perform LH pertaining to social roles than those pertaining to daily living. Close relatives were the most frequent providers of human assistance regardless of the residential setting.Conclusion: Given the importance of human assistance in TBI, it is essential to support human helpers during and after rehabilitation.