Finding a "NEW VOICE to tell my story" through the Unmasking Brain Injury project: a mixed-method analysis of wellness after brain injury.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the narratives of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) who participated in the Unmasking Brain Injury project. Through this inquiry, the multifaceted nature of wellbeing after ABI was described in the narratives, which were characterized by identifying facilitators and barriers to overall wellness.

METHODS

A mixed-methods approach was utilized for this study. Narratives from people with ABI (n = 1019) that had been uploaded to a public database were analyzed in three phases: (1) document-level content analysis, (2) communication unit (c-unit) content analysis based on Dimensions of Wellness, and (3) c-unit and full narrative aggregate sentiment analysis.

RESULTS

People with ABI used their narratives to share with others and engage in personal reflection. Narratives had c-units related to all areas of wellness, but primarily emotional, spiritual, physical, social, cognitive, and, to a lesser extent, occupational and recreational. Facilitators of wellness included spiritual, social, and recreational health, while barriers to wellness included physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Emotional health was also identified as mixed, emphasizing the challenge of pursuing wellness post-ABI.

CONCLUSIONS

Narrative storytelling through mask-making can offer an avenue for identifying concrete examples of a person with ABIs' experience, goals, strengths, and weaknesses.