Pia Wedege is a doctorate student at the Department of Sport and Social Sciences. On May 14, 2025, 10:15—16:00 she will defend her thesis Pivotal moments in needs-supportive environments: Experiences of Active Rehabilitation camps for individuals with acquired brain injury at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Auditorium Innsikt.
About the study
The World Health Organization aims to enhance community-based rehabilitation for individuals with a disability and recommends peer support as a tool for assisting in managing health and facilitating inclusion and participation.
However, the knowledge about the impact of peer support in rehabilitation settings is limited, and there is a large variety in peer support programmes, which may affect the outcomes.
This PhD project therefore aimed to investigate the experiences of individuals with acquired brain injury participating in community-based, peer-led activity camps in Norway. These camps are called Brain Camps and are run by the Sunnaas Foundation, based on a global peer support model known as Active Rehabilitation.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of Brain Camps and how both receiving and providing peer support are experienced, we conducted interviews with 27 participants (both children and adults) with an acquired brain injury, 10 caregivers, and 16 peer mentors with acquired brain injury.
Results
We found that both participants and peer mentors experienced feelings of mastery and motivation to be physically active and participate in their local community. Furthermore, participants, peer mentors, and caregivers reported positive changes in their knowledge about brain injury, coping strategies, confidence, and support networks.
The study participants claimed that it is essential to meet someone with the same injury and challenges to gain maximal benefits from camp participation. Although the peer mentors’ experiences were mostly positive, they also claimed that they initially struggled to understand their role as peer mentors and what was expected from them.
The study participants described the camp environment as safe, supportive, empathic and a place where they could share experiences and meet peer mentors who provided encouragement and hope for the future.
The results from this PhD project suggest that participants, caregivers, and peer mentors benefit from participating in Active Rehabilitation camps for individuals with acquired brain injury.
However, it is essential to train peer mentors adequately before they assume these positions and also allow time for physical activities, formal and informal discussions, and rest periods in the camp schedules.
We conclude that short-term peer mentorship activity camps, such as Brain Camp, can enhance health management, activity, and participation for individuals with acquired brain injury.
Read the thesis here
Committee
Chair
- Øyvind Førland Standal, Professor, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH), chairperson
Opponents
- Shane Norman Sweet, Associate Professor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Hanna Persson, Professor, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Supervisors
- Main supervisor: Frank E Abrahamsen, Associate Professor, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
- Co-Advisor: Silje Mæland, Professor, University of Bergen
- Co-Advisor: Anestis Divanoglou, Associate Professor, Linköping University
Program
- 10.15-11.00: Trial lecture: “What is the evidence supporting team-based approaches in neurorehabilitation?”
- 11.00-16.00: Public defense of the thesis: Pivotal moments in needs-supportive environments: Experiences of Active Rehabilitation camps for individuals with acquired brain injury
Practical info
The defense will be chaired by Rector Lars Tore Ronglan
The defense is open to everyone and will be streamed on NIH’s YouTube channel.
