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It is estimated that greater than a single million adults in the UK are currently living using the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have elevated significantly in recent years, with estimated increases more than ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This improve is resulting from several different things including enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); a lot more cyclists interacting with heavier traffic flow; increased participation in harmful sports; and larger numbers of quite old persons in the population. Based on Nice (2014), essentially the most popular causes of ABI inside the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road visitors accidents (circa 25 per cent), although the Fexaramine latter category accounts for a disproportionate number of far more extreme brain injuries; other causes of ABI incorporate sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is more common amongst men than girls and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and over eighty (Good, 2014). International information show similar patterns. For instance, inside the USA, the Centre for Illness Control estimates that ABI affects 1.7 million Americans each year; young children aged from birth to four, older teenagers and adults aged more than sixty-five possess the highest rates of ABI, with men extra susceptible than ladies across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury in the Usa: Fact Sheet, obtainable online at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also rising awareness and concern inside 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 short article will focus on existing UK policy and practice, the problems which it highlights are relevant to quite a few 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. Some individuals make a good recovery from their brain injury, whilst other folks are left with substantial ongoing difficulties. In addition, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury isn’t a trustworthy indicator of long-term problems’. The prospective impacts of ABI are effectively described each in (non-social work) academic A1443 literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in personal accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Even so, offered the restricted attention to ABI in social operate literature, it really is worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing a number of the frequent after-effects: physical issues, cognitive troubles, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and alterations to emotional regulation and `personality’. For many folks with ABI, there will likely be no physical indicators of impairment, but some might expertise a range of physical troubles 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 getting particularly popular following cognitive activity. ABI might also trigger cognitive difficulties for instance issues with journal.pone.0169185 memory and lowered speed of data processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, whilst difficult for the individual concerned, are fairly effortless for social workers and other individuals to conceptuali.It can be estimated that more than one million adults inside the UK are presently living with all the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices 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 boost is due to a number of elements which includes enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); additional cyclists interacting with heavier site visitors flow; increased participation in harmful sports; and larger numbers of pretty old men and women within the population. As outlined by Nice (2014), essentially the most popular causes of ABI in the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road site visitors accidents (circa 25 per cent), even though the latter category accounts to get a disproportionate number of additional severe brain injuries; other causes of ABI include sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is additional typical amongst males than ladies and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and over eighty (Good, 2014). International data show equivalent patterns. As an example, inside the USA, the Centre for Illness Control estimates that ABI impacts 1.7 million Americans each year; children aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged over sixty-five possess the highest prices of ABI, with men extra susceptible than women across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury within the United states of america: Fact Sheet, available on the net at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also increasing awareness and concern within 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 short article will concentrate on existing UK policy and practice, the issues which it highlights are relevant to several national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Perform 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 an excellent recovery from their brain injury, while other individuals are left with important ongoing troubles. Furthermore, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury will not be a dependable indicator of long-term problems’. The possible impacts of ABI are nicely described both in (non-social operate) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in private accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Nevertheless, provided the restricted attention to ABI in social work literature, it can be worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing some of the widespread after-effects: physical issues, cognitive difficulties, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and modifications to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of folks with ABI, there are going to be no physical indicators of impairment, but some could knowledge a range 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 getting particularly popular right after cognitive activity. ABI may also trigger cognitive issues like troubles with journal.pone.0169185 memory and lowered speed of information processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, whilst challenging for the person concerned, are somewhat straightforward for social workers and other people to conceptuali.

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