Perceived difficulty in everyday technology use among persons with acquired brain injury of different severity: a comparison with controls

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) might lead to difficulties in using everyday technology (ET) which can restrict individuals in their participation. The overall aim of this study was to compare the perceived difficulty... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Acquired brain injury (ABI) might lead to difficulties in using everyday technology (ET) which can restrict individuals in their participation. The overall aim of this study was to compare the perceived difficulty in everyday technology use in persons with ABI with different levels of severity of disability, and people with no known impairments.
Method:
This comparison study recruited two samples of persons with ABI and controls, consisting of a total of 161 participants (age range: 18-64 years). The long and short versions of Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ) and the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS-E) were used to assess the participants.
Results:
The results showed that persons with ABI demonstrated higher mean level of perceived difficulty in everyday technology use than the control group (F = 21.84, df = 1, p < 0.001). Further analysis between three sub-samples of persons with ABI and the control group demonstrated a statistically significant difference between two samples (F = 13.251, df = 3, p < 0.001).
Conclusion and application to practice:
Findings indicate that perceived difficulty in using everyday technology increases in people with ABI and is significantly increased among persons with severe to moderate disability compare to controls. Findings stress the importance of rehabilitation services to consider the use of ET in order to increase participation in everyday activities after ABI.



Financial support by Promobilia Foundation, the Strategic Research Programmes in Care Sciences at the
Umeå University, the Swedish Research Council and the Luleå University of Technology are gratefully
acknowledged.