Connected patients

Nowadays is practically unconceivable for many of us to live on the sidelines of the new technologies: internet has intruded in our daily life radically changing the way we interact with the rest of the world. The social networks, forums, e-mails, blogs, video call or the immediate messenger services keep us virtually connected, facilitating the contact with the social environment and providing a self-expression vehicle that would be impossible to find a few time ago.

Therefore it is not weird that the most social use of the network of networks has recently became an interesting tool to the patients of Casaverde Hospital in Alicante, and to the professionals implied in the rehabilitation process.

The patients, who have suffered from brain injury, make use of internet to communicate with their relatives and friends, which allows them, regardless of where they come from, to feel closer to their social environment bypassing the kilometres between them. Undoubtedly, this fact reports benefits in an affective and psychological level, affecting positively and in a direct way to the wellbeing and evolution of the patient, who as a consequence of the hospitalisation process, takes the risk of feeling aisled and uncommunicated.

On the other hand and motivated by the professionals of rehabilitation, the effective use of the social networks is used as a tool of intervention and diffusion in the field of the acquired brain injury. One clear example of this is that the hospital patients have recently become in bloggers that comment their daily life, their personal growth and the spirit of improvement against the adversities, their continuous advances and their big achievements in the Casaverde’s Group blog.

The pilot experience is giving such a good results that even some patients want to encourage and continue with the writing as a latent hobby once the rehabilitator process has finished.

The implication of the professionals that promote this interesting new project is top, and was reached as a result of the coordinated intervention of the different areas (speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychology and physiotherapy).

The patients express, communicate, relate and open to the world thanks to the internet, getting the word out the acquired brain injury problems, from the point of view of the people who lives it daily and its being supported by a professional team that facilitates and promotes their recovery and wellbeing.

Alba Ruiz Puertas.

Occupational therapist.