It is estimated that more than one particular million adults in the UK are presently

It is estimated that more than one particular million adults in the UK are presently living using the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have increased significantly in current years, with estimated increases over ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This improve is on account of a number of variables including enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); extra cyclists interacting with heavier site visitors flow; enhanced participation in dangerous sports; and larger numbers of really old people within the population. Based on Nice (2014), essentially the most frequent causes of ABI inside the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), though the latter category accounts to get a disproportionate quantity of far more severe brain injuries; other causes of ABI include sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is far more widespread amongst men than ladies and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and more than eighty (Good, 2014). International information show comparable patterns. For example, in the USA, the Centre for Disease Control estimates that ABI impacts 1.7 million Americans each year; kids aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged over sixty-five have the highest rates of ABI, with men much more susceptible than women across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury within the United states: Truth Sheet, readily available on-line at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also growing 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). Whilst this short article will focus on current UK policy and practice, the issues which it highlights are relevant to many 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 a very good recovery from their brain injury, whilst other folks are left with substantial ongoing troubles. Moreover, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury just isn’t a dependable indicator of long-term problems’. The potential impacts of ABI are well described both in (non-social function) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in private accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Even so, provided the restricted consideration to ABI in social operate literature, it’s worth journal.pone.0169185 memory and reduced speed of details processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive elements of ABI, while challenging for the person concerned, are comparatively easy for social workers and other individuals to conceptuali.