Current status of post-traumatic brain injury rehabilitation care in LMI Southeast Asian Countries: A mini systematic review

Abstract

Low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) in Southeast Asia (SEA) had the highest global traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, post-TBI rehabilitation care may be limited in these countries, thereby contributing to the poorer quality of life (QoL) of patients with TBI. The present systematic review aimed to elucidate the current status of post-TBI rehabilitation care in the LMICs in the SEA region and to discuss the limitations that may hinder the advancement of TBI rehabilitation within this region. A literature search was carried out using five databases (PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus), and the final number of articles were selected according to the PRISMA guidelines. This review selected four relevant research articles from Malaysia and Thailand for critical appraisal. These articles showed that the status of post-TBI rehabilitation care in these regions remains unclear based on the scarcity of available literature. Only early rehabilitation care strategies have been discussed in the literature, such as individualised structured cognitive rehabilitation, utilisation of humanoid robots and the implementation of sensory stimulation programs. This review also suggested that TBI rehabilitation improvements may be hindered by a lack of government funding, unequal distribution of care services and reliance on traditional care. Thus, more research into TBI rehabilitation care is significantly needed within the SEA region to overcome these barriers, leading to the preservation of patients’ QoL.