‘Can be challenging but usually worth it!’: International survey of rehabilitation professionals' experiences of social media use after acquired brain injury

What is already known on the subject People with an acquired brain injury (ABI) experience challenges in using social media safely and meaningfully after their injury. With little guidance available to support clinical practice, ABI rehabilitation clinicians feel uncertain in their approach to addressing social media goals and want greater access to knowledge, expertise and resources. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This paper provides confirmation of previous work exploring how social media is addressed during rehabilitation and extends on our knowledge through surveying a larger cohort of international ABI rehabilitation professionals. Rehabilitation professionals report that inclusion in online communities is now central to many people's social and occupational endeavours and recommend that social media use be routinely considered during rehabilitation after ABI. When incorporating the use of social media into rehabilitation, clinicians report positive outcomes despite the complexity and challenges faced in doing so. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Respondents in this study suggested potential approaches and strategies for rehabilitation professionals to consider when supporting social media use after ABI. However, ongoing robust research is urgently required to give rehabilitation professionals an evidence-based framework and resources for assessment and intervention of social media communication skills after brain injury.