Long-term outcome and rehabilitation needs after acquired brain injury in children and adolescents - an evaluation in a Swedish cohort.

UNLABELLED: Children with acquired brain injury (ABI) are at risk of developing cognitive, physical, or emotional impairments that affect their daily lives at home, school, and in society.

PURPOSE: To explore this, we used the Swedish version of the Child and Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS-SWE) to describe the participation of 39 children (aged 5-17 years) who had sustained ABIs.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We assessed their participation using the CFFS-SWE at three points: upon discharge from the acute hospital, six months post-discharge, and between one and four years after discharge.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that 69% of the children had rehabilitation needs at discharge, with physical symptoms, pain, mobility, and visual difficulties being the most common. Environmental barriers to participation included family stress, inadequate information about diagnosis and/or treatment, lack of assistance in school, and lack of family finances. Additionally, 31% of the sample had unmet support needs in everyday life.

CONCLUSION

The study underscores the necessity of implementing structured follow-up and early rehabilitation interventions for children with ABI to improve their long-term outcomes.