‘I imagine teams!’ - exploring the potential of team-based long-term brain injury rehabilitation in North Norway

Sep 29, 2026

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Acquired brain injury (ABI) often causes long-term impairments that limit community integration, yet follow-up gaps persist—especially in rural Northern Norway where access to rehabilitation professionals is constrained by dispersed populations and long travel distances. This study investigates how team-based organization may strengthen long-term rehabilitation services. Using a collaborative knowledge-generation approach inspired by Experience-based Co-design, the study gathers and thematically analyzes workshop focus-group data from health and welfare professionals and people with ABI.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Background

Nikolaisen et al. BMC Health Services Research (2026) 26:15 BMC Health Services Research [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13894-0](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13894-0) RESEARCH Open Access ‘I imagine teams!’– exploring the potential of team-based long-term brain injury rehabilitation in North Norway Morten Nikolaisen 1,2*, Cathrine Arntzen 1,2, Marianne Eliassen 1, Lina Forslund 1, Hege K. Andreassen 1,3 and Astrid Gramstad 1 Abstract Background Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a leading cause of disability in adults worldwide, often resulting in longterm impairments that hinder community integration. While advancements in acute care have improved ABI survival rates, significant gaps remain in long-term follow-up. These gaps are exacerbated in rural areas, where dispersed populations, long distances, and limited access to rehabilitation professionals pose challenges. Although team-based approaches are crucial for effective ABI rehabilitation, these approaches have yet to be fully integrated into longterm care, thus highlighting the need for innovation. This study explores the potential of team-based organisation in improving long-term rehabilitation services for individuals with ABI in the rural context of North Norway. Methods This study employed a collaborative knowledge generation framework inspired by Experience-based Co-design, wherein researchers work with stakeholders to align research efforts and service development. Data were generated during a full-day workshop during which two focus groups comprising health and welfare professionals (n = 10) and individuals with ABI (n = 3) explored the potential of team-based organisation in improving long-term ABI rehabilitation services in a rural context. The data were analysed using a predominantly inductive approach to thematic analysis. Results Four key themes were identified: (1) establishing municipal ‘core teams’ at the primary healthcare level to strengthen local rehabilitation services; (2) enhancing care continuity through ongoing collaboration between the core teams and existing specialist ambulatory rehabilitation teams; (3) sharing the management of long-term rehabilitation trajectories between teams; and (4) using teams as platforms for professional learning and knowledge sharing. These themes informed the construction of a framework designed to guide the development and application of team-based long-term ABI rehabilitation. Conclusions This study highlights the potential of team-based organisation in enhancing long-term rehabilitation services for individuals with ABI in rural contexts. Establishing core teams within municipalities and fostering ongoing collaboration between these teams and specialist healthcare teams can bridge service gaps to promote community integration and self-management. The proposed framework can guide the development and application of team- *Correspondence: Morten Nikolaisen [morten.nikolaisen@uit. no](morten.nikolaisen@uit. no) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by/4.0/. Nikolaisen et al

FAQs

Why is long-term ABI rehabilitation challenging in rural North Norway?

Rural contexts face dispersed populations, long travel distances, and limited access to rehabilitation professionals and specialized services, leaving people with ABI without sustained support for years.

How was stakeholder input used in the study?

The study used a collaborative knowledge generation framework inspired by Experience-based Co-design, involving a full-day workshop with two focus groups of health and welfare professionals and individuals with ABI.

What main themes did the study identify to improve long-term rehabilitation?

The study identified four themes: municipal core teams at primary healthcare level, enhanced care continuity between core teams and specialist ambulatory rehabilitation teams, shared management of long-term rehabilitation trajectories, and teams as platforms for professional learning and knowledge sharing.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket