Shared disability experiences may link people together in a distinct group, even when the individuals in the group differ in terms of geography, culture, economic status, or other traditional community-defining parameters. Prior research has shown that engagement with other individuals with disabilities, through various formal and informal peer support initiatives, is key for psychosocial rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
However, the mechanisms by which peer experience contributes to psychosocial outcomes in this population are still not well-understood. How does peer experience meaningfully benefit an individual’s health and behavior after TBI? Published studies on peer support interventions for brain injury vary widely in terms of the intervention characteristics, outcomes examined, and reported effectiveness, and the interventions studied to date generally do not have an explicit theoretical basis.
Umesh Venkatesan, PhD, Director of the Brain Trauma & Behavior Laboratory, aims to address this pressing gap in a new research study. Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Venkatesan has been awarded a research grant from the Albert Einstein Society for his proposal titled "Advancing the Study of Disability Community Integration After Traumatic Brain Injury: Building a Conceptual Model of Disability Peer Support".
The study uses existing theoretical frameworks to hypothesize that meaningful peer experiences — constituting disability peer support (DPS) — reflect peer contact that fosters health self-efficacy (self-confidence in managing disability, from social cognitive theory) and disability identity (acceptance of disability and sense of connectedness with a disability community, from theories of disability identity development). To verify and refine this theoretical formulation, the study will involve semi-structured interviews with people with TBI focused on the perceived impact of peer experience on their health and behavior. The principal goal of this research is to use both theory- and data-driven qualitative analyses to build a robust conceptual model of DPS that can be used to guide future research, including the systematic measurement of disability peer experience/support, the development of theory-informed peer support interventions, and the identification of candidate intervention endpoints.
“I’m honored to receive this award from the Albert Einstein Society, and I look forward to launching this exciting new study, which will lay the foundation for developing effective, community-driven peer support programs for individuals living with brain injury,” Dr. Venkatesan remarked.