Traumatic brain injury-related stigma among intimate partner violence survivors.

Only 20 cis-gendered women were interviewed, and the authors recommend future research include transgender women and men. Participants were recruited through convenience referral, clinician referral, and snowball sampling, mainly from another study, so they may not represent intimate partner violence survivors who avoid care or deny TBI. Most participants had mild, remote TBIs, so stigma related to severe or recent injury may be underrepresented. Stigma emerged as a theme in interviews designed to adapt a cognitive rehabilitation intervention, so the study may not have probed stigma as deeply as a dedicated stigma study. Strangulation and sub-concussive hits were not assessed, so symptoms and stigma from these common intimate partner violence-related injuries may be missing. The sample included English and Spanish speakers but limited racial and ethnic representation, and all participants who described mental health stigma identified with a marginalized racial or ethnic group. The study did not test whether education reduces stigma or improves recovery.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Do not read these themes as proof that TBI education reduces stigma or improves recovery. The study asked women to describe their experiences; it did not test an intervention or measure change.