Northern Brain Injury Association Reflection Essay

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The Advantages in Promoting Family Health

The services and information the NBIA provides has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of having the NBIA is that it addresses the concerns of the patient with brain injury and the family. The association helps the family understand the patient’s condition and how to care for the patient and they help the patient to deal with the negative emotions associated with his condition in a positive manner. When the family knows how to care for a patient with a brain injury and the patient knows how to deal with his emotions, tranquility takes place.

Another advantage is that it increases the awareness of person and his family to take better care of themselves. For instance, if a member of the family knows how to choose the right helmet and how to properly wear it, he can relay that information the other members of the family. The information that was transmitted to the other members of the family may be transmitted to other members of the community, which would lead to a continuous chain of health promotion. Furthermore, the NBIA provides information through the Internet, which is advantageous to people living in rural communities who are in need of this information.

The Disadvantages in Promoting Family Health

The disadvantage of the NBIA is its accessibility to distant communities in Northern British Columbia. The NBIA has three main branches one catering to Prince George and the other two branches one in the northwest and northeast cater to surrounding communities. Despite the proximity of the other two branches to other communities, the family of a patient with a brain injury still requires to travel some distance to reach the association, which requires extra cost. The NBIA may require extra cost as well especially if they are traveling to rural communities to provide educational workshops about brain injury.

Another disadvantage of the NBIA is that some support groups in Northern British Columbia have limited availability. The only support group that is available every week is PGBIG, which is in Prince George and other support groups, such as the one in Fort St. John meet only twice a month for one hour (North Brain Injury Association, 2014).

Furthermore, the information posted in online may inaccessible to people who are not comfortable using computers, have poor literacy, and those living in remote areas with a poor network connection. These disadvantages are significant because some people may require the education and support but cannot obtain it due to their geographical location. This may lead to poor health outcomes, physical, and emotional burden to the patient and the family.

Referring Someone: How and When

People who need to be referred to the NBIA are those patients with brain injuries and their families who require support, education, and people who are at high risk for brain injuries, such as people who are not wearing helmets or elderly who are prone to slips, trips or falls. People who require the NBIA’s services may be referred by giving their address, contact information, hours, and their website.

Conclusion

The NBIA is a health promoter suggesting prophylactic measures against brain injury, providing education, and supporting patients with brain injuries and their families. Prophylactic measures, such as proper helmet use, educating about slips, trip, and falls, which is a major cause of brain injury, and distributing brochures about the incidence of vehicular collisions and cellphone use. In addition, they educate and support people with brain injuries and their families by providing a referral to other community services that meet their needs and information about brain injury. The NBIA services provide many benefits, such as addressing the concerns of the patient with brain injury and the family, increasing awareness of risk factors associated with brain injuries, and providing information via the Internet. Some disadvantages with NBIA is the limited availability of support groups in Northern BC, and its inaccessibility to remote communities and those who are not capable of using computers.

References

BC Ministry of Health. (2014). How does public health work?. Retrieved from http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/14abb1d8-e023-4c4b-90b6-933553ad52c3/1/BC_PublicHealth101_Module_03_v02.pdf

Northern Brain Injury Association. (2014). Brain injury education. Retrieved from http://nbia.ca/brain-injury-education/#

Northern Brain Injury Association. (2014). Northern brain injury association support. Retrieved from http://nbia.ca/brain-injury-support/

Northern Brain Injury Association. (2014). Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and a necessary part of our increasingly mobile lifestyles. Retrieved from http://nbia.ca/road-safety/

Northern Brain Injury Association. (2014). Slips, trips, and falls. Retrieved from http://nbia.ca/slips-trips-falls/

Northern Brain Injury Association. (2014). Sport Brain Injury Prevention. Retrieved from http://nbia.ca/sport-brain-injury-prevention/

World Health Organization. (2016). Health Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/topics/health_promotion/en/