Enhancing Leisure Experiences Post Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study

Up to 90% of people with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) report dissatisfaction with the status of their leisure participation and/or social integration. Yet, there are virtually no studies that have investigated the benefits of interventions that target leisure specifically for this population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Leisure Education Program (Carbonneau, Fontaine, & Lussier, 2006) designed to assist people with stroke to engage in meaningful leisure activities, build leisure self-efficacy and promote general wellbeing would have similar benefits for survivors of TBI. We recruited three community-dwelling survivors of TBI to participate in a 10-week leisure program. All three participants reported some benefit in leisure satisfaction and self-efficacy. This extended to improvements in general wellbeing and health-related quality of life for two of the three. These findings suggest that further investigations into the benefits of leisure education for adults with TBI should be conducted.