Early Rehabilitation Care for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): a Concept Analysis study

Background: Availability and efficiency of early rehabilitation care is crucial for the restoration and improvement of brain function. Moreover, it can help increase the possibility of the patient’s successful future integration in the community. However, there is no clear and general consensus over this concept (regarding patients with traumatic brain injury) and it is considered a poorly developed area of research. Hence, the purpose of this study is to analysis the concept of early rehabilitation care in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Walker and Avant’s (2011) approach was employed to analyze this concept. Various databases and search engines were explored to find all the relevant data regarding the concept of early rehabilitation care from 1990 to 2020. Finally, the definition, usage, features, antecedents, attribute, consequences, and empirical referents on the subject of early rehabilitation care were extracted. Results: The results of the concept analysis demonstrated that the most important features of early rehabilitation care include early specialized comprehensive care, purposeful and patient-centered care, and teamwork. Hence, the objectives are to decrease the bad consequence caused by immobility, contracture, bladder and intestinal dysfunction, pressure ulcer, and sleeping disorders. Conclusions: It is believed that the concept of early rehabilitation care is not fully established in the literature in patients with traumatic brain injury, and there are only rudimentary ideas and steps toward applying this concept. Therefore, clarifications on this concept can pave the way for further application of early rehabilitation care.