T7: State-of-the-Science Conference on Community Integration for Persons with TBI
Roundtable Discussion - April 13, 2007
Topic Area: Meaning in Life
Facilitators: George Prigatano, Ph.D. and Gary Recker, Ph.D.
Recorder: Angelle Sander, Ph.D.
- What research should be addressed in the future to further
the field and address the most relevant gaps in our knowledge? What models/methods
should be utilized?
- Creating meaning in life is something that is crucial to the quality
of lives for persons with TBI. However, persons with TBI differ in
regard to their ability to achieve meaning in life, in their readiness
to address meaning of life issues, and in their perceptions of meaning.
Future research is needed to:
- Determine the correct timing or point in the process of recovery
during which meaning of life issues should be addressed.
- Identify factors that could move a person with TBI toward resolving
the discrepancy between their perceptions of their “old” and “new” selves
in order to achieve meaning.
- Determine predictors or factors that discriminate between persons
who achieve meaning in life and those who do not (e.g., impaired
awareness; executive functioning deficits; severity of injury; depression).
- Neurosurgery and rehabilitation professionals are among the people
who provide early information to persons with injury and their family
members regarding predicted outcomes. This information can instill
hope or hopelessness, depending on its message and style of delivery.
Research is needed to:
- Determine the role of hope in outcomes, including emotional outcomes.
- Survey neurosurgery and rehabilitation professionals about what information
they give to persons with injury and their family members in terms of
the likelihood of different outcomes.
- Determine how the value system of neurosurgery and rehabilitation
professionals may impact the information given to persons with injury
and their family members.
- One of the goals of post-acute rehabilitation is to help persons
with TBI achieve meaning in life. Measures of meaning in life should
be added as an outcome measure or evaluation measure for post-acute
programs.
- Difficulty studying meaning of life issues is partly due to lack
of measures for this construct. Adoption of measures that have been
used with normal persons can further investigation of meaning of life
following TBI (e.g., Multidimensional Resilience Inventory; Life Attitude
Profile).
- What collaborations could be fostered to address this
topic area?
- Collaborations between researchers in the area of TBI and researchers
investigating meaning of life issues in the normal population should
be encouraged.
- Collaborations with faith-based organizations can help to clarify issues
important for meaning of life.
- Collaboration between consumers and researchers in important for all areas
of research, but is especially important when researching the issue of meaning
in life. The phenomenological experience of persons with TBI should guide
researchers in formulating questions and in determining how to assess meaning
in life.
- Collaborations between experts in TBI and philosophers should be encouraged
when investigating meaning in life.
