Supporting people with traumatic brain injury in their use of public spaces: Identifying facilitating factors and obstacles

Abstract

AimDuring the course of the Citizen Accompaniment for Community Integration (APIC) project, people with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) visited several different public places. This study aims to identify and record the facilitating factors and obstacles encountered when engaging in activities in public places. MethodologyThe research design is qualitative. The study is a retrospective analysis of part of the data from the original research, drawn from semi-structured interviews recorded and transcribed verbatim, and from weekly entries in journals kept by the citizen-accompaniers. The sample is made up of 13 individuals with mild, moderate or severe TBI, between the ages of 29 and 69, and nine accompaniers. ResultsParticipants’ comments regarding their use of public places, as well as the accompaniers’ thoughts on which factors promote or impede participation in activities in public places were collected according to the sequence of actions framework: the planning, the trip, and the use of the public place. Discussion and conclusionThe results show that the design of public spaces must take into account the needs for comfort and safety of people with a disability and promote their autonomy and efficiency within the space.