Headstart: Multi-family Groups for Traumatic Brain Injury
Headstart: Multi-Family Groups for Traumatic Brain Injury. A Clinical Research Program for the Study of the Impact of Multi-Family Group Intervention on the Social and Psychological Functioning of People with Traumatic Brain Injury and their Care Givers
Chief Investigator: Dr Grace Couchman, Professor Jennie Ponsford
Lead Organisation: Monash University
Project Summary:
In the absence of substantive controlled trials of family based interventions for families living with TBI, Headstart will evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based multi-family group intervention. Headstart will adapt a well-researched Multi-family Group (MFG) program, previously developed for mental illness, implement it in a series of treatment groups of individuals with TBI and their families, and evaluate its efficacy. The program will study the benefit, for people with TBI and their care givers, in terms of use of attendant care and respite services, community integration, behaviour management, and psychological well-being. The project is designed such that a control component is embedded in the form of variable waitlist protocols which enable all participating families to have access to the intervention while ensuring high quality empirical evidence. Qualitative material collected over the course of the program will be used in the development of training, and as the basis for further research. This innovative project is an exciting extension of previous Victorian research, and will produce an empirical basis for the effective treatment of these challenged and socially vulnerable families. Effective interventions which promote optimal family functioning after trauma are important to minimise the burden these injured individuals place on the health care and community service system, due to their poor cognitive, behavioural, social and psychological functioning.
