"Tears in my eyes 'cause somebody finally understood": Client perceptions of practitioners following brain injury

Objective. The Purpose of this study was to identify practitioner qualities and traits that clients with brain injury see as important. Method. An opportunistic sample of 51 participants with brain injury was in terviewed about perceptions of service access and effectiveness. An intervi ew guide was used to gather data for this phenomenological qualitative stud y Four interviewers individually conducted audiotaped interviews, which wer e then transcribed Coding and theme development were completed using HyperR ESARCH (TM) software. Results. Three themes regarding practitioner qualities emerged from the dat a: (a) roles of the provider, (b) perceived helpfulness of services, and (c ) personal characteristics of the providers. Beneficial provider roles incl uded advocate, friend, mentor, and team member. Perceptions of helpfulness of the services included relevance meaningfulness, practical application, s kill development potential, and whether periodic feedback on progress was p rovided. Personal characteristics of the provider valued by the participant s were clear and honest communicator, supportive, respectful, good listener and understanding. Conclusions. Practitioners need to pay increased attention to the perceptio ns of care and services of clients with brain injury The current study clos ely supports previous research related to quality of care in the medical an d community arenas and often some additional suggestions to professionals w ho work with persons with brain injury, including learning how to time givi ng information to clients and how to understand client concerns without bei ng prescriptive. Future research in this area needs to focus on and describ e providers who demonstrate an ability through their willingness to don a v ariety of roles, their helpful services, and their personal characteristics -to meet the unique need of clients with brain injury.