When young adults experience a brain injury following a stroke, the rehabilitation services available to them are rarely designed to meet their particular needs. A patient under the age of 40 is likely to feel isolated during rehabilitation as a result of their age, as well as their injury.
In 2018, the RCN Foundation received funds raised by a CAF America campaign fronted by the actor Emilia Clarke. Working in partnership with SameYou, the brain injury charity founded by Clarke and her family, the Foundation implemented a programme of research and education designed to meet identify and meet the needs of young adults with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).
The programme began with a stakeholder forum to elicit views and feedback from nursing staff, academics, charities, and people with lived experience and their families, about the key issues and priorities that needed to be addressed.
Since then, the RCN Foundation has supported: