Abstract for presentation at 6th World Congress on Brain Injury

This year a Learning and Coping centre (LCC) was established at Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital. The centre is open for everyone interested in, or who may have something to share, about acquired brain injury (ABI). Patients, their families/relatives/ friends, user organizations and health care professionals are the main actors and at the same time constitute the target group of the centre.
The centre is based on the premise that persons with ABI, their families and friends know how life have changed - and also how life has to be changed. Their knowledge and experience might be very useful for others in a similar situation. At the same time the experience and knowledge of health care professionals are valued; “joined forces” might bring the best results.
The primary goal for the LCC is to help people with ABI, their fiends and families to cope with their everyday living in a best possible manner. The secondary goal is to educate health professionals within these topics. The third goal is to provide qualified health information. In this way the LCC constitutes a new arena for cooperation between patients/families/friends and health professional where an equal dialogue constitutes the foundation.
The knowledge from the “consumers” and the health care professional are equally important in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the coping and learning activities. The LCC will always search for methods that stimulates to a maximum degree of participation.
Empowerment gives the "consumers" the possibility to be more responsible for their lives. This might lead to better resilience and coping.
Examples of activities are seminars for families, how to drive wheelchair in snow, coping with pain, teaching basic knowlegde of ABI, etc. All the activities are group based. The discussion is a very important part of the activities. The health professional participate through setting up the arrangements, and during the seminars with their dialogue - they do not lecture.
The board of the LCC consists of "consumers" with ABI, their relatives and the professionals.