Body-Object Knowledge and Its Relevance

Abstract

In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to men. Cicero 3.1 Introduction Having laid out assumptions of disability models in the last chapter, we are nev-ertheless convinced that these models can contribute something to our interest in focusing on the lives and experiences of people with ABI. As such, in this chapter, we explore some of the significant findings from the medical and biopsychosocial models and then translate these into concepts that informed and which helped us to populate our methodological tool, 'Keys to the ABI Cage'. We follow up in Chap. 4 by undertaking a similar review of literature and its relevance around the body-subject approach. It should be observed that huge research resources are committed to biopsy-chosocial model research and treatments over the 'golden period/dark hole period'. Moreover, we shall see that the 'deficit', broken bodies, broken minds focus has fed into Web resources as reviewed in Chap. 1. Seeking to maximise people's capacity to function through medical means is essential, but there are other issues that need to be considered for the person to learn to feel and fare better in the community. Significantly less research takes place in this domain, a place where, after leaving hospital or rehabilitation, they must spend the rest of their lives. A cursory review of medical model research, its focus, nature, character and its effects is undertaken below. This literature will focus upon the physical and emotional issues that the medical model seeks to address. At relevant points grey textboxes are used as Headwork, to demonstrate how the information informed the Keys Study methodology. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 C. Durham and P. Ramcharan, Insight into Acquired Brain Injury, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5666-6_3 53 3.2 ABI and the Medical Model Findings Millions of dollars are spent on research into ABI, and millions of dollars are spent on rehabilitation programs. The professional has a potentially vast array of data at their fingertips as there are a plethora of tests they can administer to people with ABI, as will be demonstrated in the following section. Truism though it be, it needs stating that most practitioners function in the way in which they have been educated and trained (Smart, 2009, p. 3). A search of major medical, rehabilitation and nursing journals demonstrates that the majority of ABI studies follow quantitative approaches. In undertaking this review of the literature, a number of Web engines were used that included: Informa Healthcare; PubMed; ProQuest; Wiley Online Library; Taylor & Francis online; ScienceDirect; Google Scholar; Web of Science; Ovid Medline; Ingenta Connect; SAGE Journals online. The search strategy entailed using the following fundamental words: quantitative studies, brain injury, ABI, traumatic brain injury, TBI, and these in combination with each other and with IQ loss, memory loss, depression, fatigue, coping, pain, cognitive rehabilitation therapy, self-awareness, post-traumatic stress disorder, learning disorders, tests, scales, measures and questionnaires. A review of the above journals was undertaken by looking at ABI-specific studies in the past twenty years (between 1991 when Durham sustained ABI and 2011, when the original Ph.D. study was being undertaken). It is 20 years since Durham suffered ABI and the authors therefore held a keen interest in develop-ments made over that period of time. The review also examined articles in the, which were more social science-orientated journals but when searched were found to carry ABI-relevant studies. Quantitative journal articles were reviewed to establish an objective perspective of difficulties/differences and deficits of ABI to (a) provide a background to problems participants may experience, in order to inform the method employed and the tone of this study; (b) examine issues identified by professional studies, which could inform the 'talk-about' cards; (c) identify issues that could be addressed in the ABI learning resource and (d) to look for similarities and differences to issues identified in qualitative studies and books and blogs written by people with ABI. As neither Durham or Ramcharan are rehabilitation professionals, a review of studies involving specific rehabilitation programs was not taken. The assessment of ABI and its associated co-morbidities were found to occupy a significant number of studies, many of which replicated Website contents presented in Chap. 1. However, the co-morbidities themselves were a significant proportion of the literature and they fell into a number of categories. Ten of these categories, the main ones identified, are used as subsections in the review that follows, and they fall into areas relating to psychiatry, neurology and neuropsychiatry. It will not have escaped the reader's attention that these very much mirror the pathological and negative approach and cover areas set out in the neat summary of medical interests 54 3 Body-Object Knowledge and Its Relevance