It can be estimated that more than one particular million adults inside the UK are at present living with the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have elevated considerably in current years, with estimated increases more than ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This increase is as a consequence of a range of factors including enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); extra cyclists interacting with heavier targeted traffic flow; improved participation in dangerous sports; and larger numbers of quite old people within the population. According to Good (2014), by far the most common causes of ABI inside the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road website traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), even though the latter category accounts for a disproportionate number of a lot more severe brain injuries; other causes of ABI contain sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is a lot more frequent amongst males than girls and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and more than eighty (Nice, 2014). International data show equivalent patterns. For example, inside the USA, the Centre for Disease Manage estimates that ABI affects 1.7 million Americans every year; youngsters aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged more than sixty-five have the highest rates of ABI, with men more order GSK2334470 susceptible than women across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury inside the Usa: Truth Sheet, offered online at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is certainly also increasing awareness and concern in the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to GSK343 site exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). Whilst this short article will focus on present UK policy and practice, the concerns which it highlights are relevant to numerous national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Work and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. Many people make a great recovery from their brain injury, whilst other people are left with considerable ongoing difficulties. Furthermore, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury will not be a reputable indicator of long-term problems’. The potential impacts of ABI are effectively described each in (non-social work) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in private accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). However, provided the restricted interest to ABI in social work literature, it’s worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing some of the frequent after-effects: physical issues, cognitive troubles, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and adjustments to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of persons with ABI, there are going to be no physical indicators of impairment, but some may encounter a array of physical troubles like `loss of co-ordination, muscle rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches being particularly widespread just after cognitive activity. ABI might also lead to cognitive troubles which include challenges with journal.pone.0169185 memory and reduced speed of details processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, whilst difficult for the individual concerned, are relatively simple for social workers and other folks to conceptuali.It is estimated that more than one particular million adults within the UK are currently living with the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Rates of ABI have improved significantly in recent years, with estimated increases over ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This improve is resulting from a range of elements such as enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); much more cyclists interacting with heavier site visitors flow; improved participation in harmful sports; and bigger numbers of very old people in the population. Based on Good (2014), by far the most popular causes of ABI within the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road targeted traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), even though the latter category accounts for a disproportionate number of much more severe brain injuries; other causes of ABI incorporate sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is additional widespread amongst males than women and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and over eighty (Nice, 2014). International data show similar patterns. For instance, in the USA, the Centre for Illness Control estimates that ABI impacts 1.7 million Americans each and every year; children aged from birth to four, older teenagers and adults aged more than sixty-five have the highest prices of ABI, with men far more susceptible than girls across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury within the Usa: Fact Sheet, available on the internet at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also escalating awareness and concern in the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). While this article will concentrate on current UK policy and practice, the problems which it highlights are relevant to several national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Function and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. A number of people make a good recovery from their brain injury, whilst other individuals are left with considerable ongoing difficulties. Moreover, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury is just not a trusted indicator of long-term problems’. The prospective impacts of ABI are nicely described both in (non-social work) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in personal accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Nevertheless, provided the limited interest to ABI in social perform literature, it is worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing some of the frequent after-effects: physical difficulties, cognitive difficulties, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and adjustments to emotional regulation and `personality’. For many persons with ABI, there might be no physical indicators of impairment, but some might experience a selection of physical difficulties including `loss of co-ordination, muscle rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches becoming especially typical following cognitive activity. ABI may also cause cognitive issues for instance complications with journal.pone.0169185 memory and decreased speed of information and facts processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, while challenging for the person concerned, are fairly simple for social workers and others to conceptuali.
