Healthcare decision making of adults living in rural communities with acquired neurologic conditions

Focus groups will be conducted with individuals with SCI, TBI, or stroke, caregivers, and healthcare providers. These focus groups can allow participants to build on one anotherfs views about what health information is relevant and where they access this information. The focus groups will be designed to recruit groups of 6]8 individuals with similar characteristics. A total of 12 focus groups will be conducted, two with participants with TBI and one with their caregivers, two with participants with stroke and one with their caregivers, two with participants with SCI and one with their caregivers, and three with a variety of healthcare providers. In]depth interviews will be conducted following the focus groups to more fully understand the lived experience of people in rural communities with acquired neurological conditions and their caregivers. We will invite 20 key informants from the focus groups to participate in a deeper exploration of accessing and using health information. The objectives of this study are to: (1000 character limit) 1. Determine where individuals from rural communities with SCI, TBI, or stroke and their caregivers, access information to make health decisions. 2. Determine what types of information are perceived to be the greatest value to individuals from rural communities with SCI, TBI or stroke and caregivers for making informed health decisions. 3. Determine where rural healthcare providers access health information for the care of individuals with SCI, TBI and stroke. 4. Determine what health information rural healthcare providers seek in order to care for individuals with SCI, TBI and stroke. 5. Determine the level of overlap and disconnect between individuals with SCI, TBI or stroke and the healthcare providers on what health information is important. The Long]term objective is to use the studyfs findings to develop an appropriate model of healthcare information diffusion among this high risk, underserved population as well as the healthcare providers that serve them.