ABSTRACT
The Brain-Injured Patient in the Family System In the United States, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) account for an
estimated 400,000 new hospital admissions per year, of which 99,000 will suffer lifelong disability (MacFarlane, 1999). Approximately one million people suffer from the effects of brain injury at any given time (Slagle, 1990). Medical technology has made possible the survival of many patients who even a decade earlier might have died as a result of their injuries. As a consequence, more of these patients are returning home to be cared for and reintegrated into their families.
