Abstract
In Low-and- middle- income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa, a high number of Acquired Brain Injuries (ABIs) and a lack of accessibility to healthcare lead to many survivors of brain injury not receiving the level of healthcare and rehabilitation required. Neuropsychological rehabilitation (NR) after ABI refers to efforts to improve the cognitive, emotional, social, vocational, and community functioning of individuals with ABI. However, in LMICs life-saving or acute care is prioritised with an inadequate focus on the lifelong effects and frustrations of ABI. In developed countries, NR is resource-intensive with low patient-to-staff ratios and interdisciplinary teams, and their models of NR reflect this. This study used Program Theory to develop a Rehabilitation Service Delivery Model for South African Adults with Acquired Brain Injury (RSDM-SA) that caters for the unique characteristics of the resource-constrained and culturally diverse South African context...
Ph.D. (Psychology)