An examination of the needs of families with a brain-injured child

Data from a questionnaire designed to assess the long-term needs of caregivers of children with brain injury were analyzed. The goals of this study were (1) to identify those needs most important to caregivers, (2) to identify those important needs that were least likely to be met, and (3) to identify characteristics of caregivers that predicted success in having needs met. Caregivers tended to endorse needs focused on acquiring information regarding their child's condition more often than needs to obtain resource or emotional support. On the average, 22 of the 39 needs sampled were considered important to caregivers, while only an average of 9 needs were rated as being met. While there were no strong demographic predictors of success in having important needs met, a regression analysis indicated that respondent gender and age, the number of behavioral problem, exhibited by the brain-injured child, and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (FCOPES) reframing subscale were related to having important needs met. This study indicates that there are significant gaps between what caregivers perceive as important needs and the extent to which caregivers perceive their needs being met.