Implementation and modification of a service model for community transitional rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury

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Published 22nd February 2023

For individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) and their families, returning to life and home and in the communigy from inpatient rehabilitation is considered to be a critical rehabilitation period. During this time, access to regular clinical services is known to improve both short-term and long-term outcomes such as independent living skills and psychosocial health. This understanding led to the development and implementation of a pilot transitional ABI service to provide seamless continuity of rehabilitation for patients undergoing this transition. 
 
The Pilot Project aimed to establish ‘proof of concept’ of the Proposed Service Model and an embedded service evaluation was conducted to critically appraise the impact and process of implementing the Proposed Service Model. This evaluation focussed on 4 distinct aspects of service delivery: 
1) outcomes for individuals with ABI and their families; 
2) changes or modification to the Proposed Service Model during the Pilot Project; 
3) benefits of the model within an integrated continuum of specialist ABI rehabilitation services; and 
4) impact of the Pilot Project on the broader health, community services and insurance sectors, including the economic impact.
 
This paper examines the implementation of the Proposed Transition-Specific Service Model for ABI rehabilitation as part of the ABITRS Pilot Project, along with any modifications made to the service model over the 5 year pilot period. 

Authors

Mandy Nielsen

Areti Kennedy

Kerrin Watter

Clinical Community Specialist, Speech Pathologist