Campaigns

In July 2012 UKABIF launched it's Campaign ‘Life After Brain Injury? Improve Services Now’ to improve rehabilitation services and support for people with Acquired Brain Injury. At the same time UKABIF launched the Manifesto Life After Brain Injury - A Way Forward to outline the necessity of acute and early access to rehabilitation for adults with ABI for optimal recovery, focussing on the need for specialist neurorehabilitation teams to manage care pathways and the cost implications of not providing adequate rehabilitation. Over a lifetime, optimal recovery results in significant savings to health care costs.

To support the Manifesto UKABIF commissioned an evidence base  which collates the following information:

• Is rehabilitation effective?
• Does the effectiveness of rehabilitation depend on the type of brain injury?
• Can key factors promoting positive outcome be identified?
• Are there factors that can be measured at time of injury to predict outcome?
• Is rehabilitation cost effective?

This annotated bibliography presents research that appears to answer those questions. It should be noted that the studies included are not an exhaustive list of the research published. However, each section provides a snapshot into the array of research that can be used to guide the development and assessment of rehabilitation pathways.

In January 2013 UKABIF produced a film to spread the word about the campaign – you can view the film by clicking here. UKABIF would like to thank Leigh Day, Hunters Moor, Badby Park and the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for supporting the production of the film.

In November 2013 UKABIF launched a second Manifesto to improve services for Children and Young People with Acquired Brain Injury. There are four demands outlined in the Manifesto:

• A National Audit of brain injury incidence and rehabilitation to collect and report accurate data on newly-acquired brain injuries from the acute to community services
• Record ABI (mild, moderate and severe) in the Personal Child Health Record and ensure long-term monitoring goals
• Facilitate the adoption of an ABI tool kit in the training programme for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators
• The information available is signposted from an established website for use by healthcare professionals, social workers, education personnel, as well as families and carers

UKABIF would like to thank UNISON, Thompson's and Recolo for their support of the Manifesto for Children and Young People with Acquired Brain Injury.

In November 2015 UKABIF launched a third Manifesto ‘Life After Brain Injury: Children, Young People and Offending Behaviour’ to raise awareness and improve services for those with Acquired Brain Injury. Long-term brain injury in childhood and young adulthood is associated with an increased tendency of offending behaviour and, relative to the general population, there is a high prevalence of brain injury amongst young offenders in custody. All professionals involved with young people need to work together to recognise, understand and manage this problem.

The evidence-base documenting the incidence of brain injuries amongst young offenders in custody is significant. Acquired Brain Injury is linked to earlier, repeated offences, a greater total time spent in custody and more violent offending. Because of the hidden elements of Acquired Brain Injury, many young offenders enter the Youth Justice System but receive little or no treatment. Their differing needs and difficulties are not diagnosed or acknowledged, not understood or not taken into account when professionals are preparing cases and considering sentencing.

UKABIF launched this Manifesto to highlight the problems faced by young offenders with recommendations to address and even prevent the issues.

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