Abstract for presentation at 6th World Congress on Brain Injury

New Zealand (NZ) is the home of Maori, Pacific Island (PI) and Pakeha (white New Zealander) peoples. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a significant public health problem in NZ, and because of their high representation in many negative statistics that increase the risk of TBI, Maori and PI peoples are over-represented in the TBI statistics. This is the first NZ-based study that explores cross-cultural perceptions of rehabilitation outcomes following mild to moderate TBI. The major aims are twofold: (1) to determine whether community-based rehabilitation outcomes following TBI differ across Mäori, PI and Pakeha cultures; and (2) to determine and identify any service delivery needs for Mäori and PI people in TBI rehabilitation that are distinct from Pakeha. The emphasis is on psychosocial outcomes utilising the Brain Injury Community Rehabilitation Outcome–39 Scale, the BDI–II, the Impacts of Events Scale–Revised, a Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Neurobehavioural Cognitive Status Examination, and a semi-structured interview. Six months or more after their first rehabilitation session, 33 TBI victims were assessed (11 in each cultural group), with 20 “close others” providing additional data. Results indicated that individual handicap increased following TBI and decreased following rehabilitation with no significant difference across cultures. Of the total TBI group, 42% scored in the clinically depressed range, half of whom were Pakeha, and 24% showed signs of mild post-traumatic stress (>90% of whom were Maori or Pacific). Although 97% were generally satisfied with the rehabilitation services, Maori and PI peoples were significantly less satisfied with their physical surroundings and the number of rehabilitation sessions received. In conclusion, whilst there are universalities across these cultures with respect to rehabilitation outcomes, there are micro-level cultural variations that have valuable implications for rehabilitation services.