Search Assignment Sample For Ireland Students

SS7017 Assignment Sample

Assignment Type : Dissertation Proposal

Title: A critical literature review of the psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults (Aged 18-25) with an acquired brain injury in acute hospital settings.  

Abstract 

This research proposal explains how this research is intended to be a qualitative, desk-based critical literature review, which will critically examine the psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults (aged 18-25)with an acquired brain injury (ABI) in acute hospital settings. This research idea has been informed by practice experience and an analysis of published research and literature. The research’s overall aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions by medical social workers that are offered to caregivers of young adults in the acute phase of care.

This research intends to utilise a systematic desk review methodology through analysing academic literature and research to identify key themes, such as the support that is provided, existing gaps in practice and caregivers’ experiences. This research will use Thematic Analysis by, Braun and Clarke (2006) to identify patterns within the data.

The findings will aim to contribute to medical social work practice, through the identification of limitations in the current psychosocial approach, to overall inform evidence-based psychosocial support for caregivers of young adults in acute hospital settings.

Introduction

An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is any brain injury that has occurred within a person’s life, after birth. (ABII, 2023). ABI often results in significant psychosocial, cognitive and physical changes. Whilst ABI can occur during any stage of life, for young adults (aged 18-25) its impact can be particularly significant. This is due to the fact of the developmental staged young adults are in whereby independence and social development are crucial. The sudden diagnosis of ABI can abruptly change the young adult’s life, but also for their main caregiver, who tends to have to make quick decisions and have complex emotional difficulties during this period.

ABI is typically a crisis within an acute hospital setting. As the individuals themselves are going through many medical changes, it leaves the caregivers to adapt to being the advocate for them, whilst also emotionally processing the changes happening. Caregivers experience high levels of stress and uncertainty during the diagnosis phases in the acute setting. Previous research shows that caregivers reported feeling not supported enough and overwhelmed in relation to navigating the healthcare system and the diagnosis.(Callaghan et al., 2011) This highlights the need for medical social work interventions of psychosocial support informed by emotional support and crisis intervention in the acute setting.

On the contrary, according to the professional framework developed by the ‘Irish Association of Social Workers’ (Butler et al.,2024), Medical social workers are assigned to deliver support within an acute hospital environment. The roles outline by Butler et al. (2024) involve supporting both the patient and their family in adjusting to the ABI process. It highlights coping strategies and advocacy at the centre of the Medical social work role in ABI. Despite this defined role, there is limited research on how psychological support is delivered in practice, particularly within an acute hospital setting and relating to caregivers of young adults with ABI.

The motivation for this research stems from the practice placement I undertook in an acute hospital setting, where psychosocial support was provided to a caregiver of a young adult with an Acquired brain injury (ABI). Throughout this experience, whilst support was being provided, there appeared to be a lack of structured guidance and consistency in how psychosocial interventions were carried out. Further to this, I noticed a gap in training among medical social work colleagues in working within the ABI context. These observations raised the questions for this research of the effectiveness of the psychosocial support provided to caregivers of young adults within acute environments.

This practice-based insight aligned with research when looking into the existing research within the area. It was found that caregivers reported feeling their support needs weren’t met (O’Callaghan et al.,2011). Further research also reflected my concerns about training for social workers who intervene in ABI contexts. Due to these gaps identified in practice and within the research, it’s intended to critically explore how psychosocial support is currently delivered and whether it adequately meets the needs of caregivers of young adults during the acute phase of ABI Care.

This research proposal demonstrates components of a strong social work dissertation when guided by Carey (2009, P.11-12) . Firstly, it identifies a ‘clearly focused topic’ through having defined aims and objectives, such as psychosocial support within a specific context, which was chosen as the acute hospital setting for young adults with ABI. It meets the guidance of a

‘critical analysis of relevant literature.’ Through the identification within this proposal of strengths and gaps within the existing research, for example, the gap of limited research on young adults and limited literature that focuses on acute settings.

Additionally, this research follows the guidelines of Carey (2009, P.11-12) by ‘drawing upon relevant theory’ as this research is based on psychosocial theory in order to explain the in interactions of psychological and social factors shaping the caregivers’ experience (Newman and Newman, 2020). This theoretical framework allows for the understanding of the impact of ABI and support needs of caregivers. Furthermore Carey (2009, P.11-12) advises, the research being linked to ‘social work practice’. This research is linked to social work practice as it is aimed for medical social workers to provide informative evidence of how psychosocial support in practice helps caregivers in the acute setting.

Lastly, this research is guided by Carey (2009, P.11-12), the advice of ‘critically analyse existing research and relate the findings to practice’. The overall aim of this research is to contribute to the development of effective psychosocial support through a critical analysis of existing research. As a result of this, the research should give an evident understanding of how social work practice can better respond to the needs of caregivers in acute ABI Contexts.

Overall, this research aims to not only contribute to academic knowledge for medical social workers but also to highlight improvements for practice. This research finding should be useful to medical social workers, especially in emphasising the need for ABI training, structured psychological intervention and overall increased acknowledgement of caregivers of young adults’ experiences during the acute phase of their diagnosis.

Background and Purpose

Any brain injury that has occurred within a person’s life, after birth, that typically emerges quickly, is referred to as an acquired brain injury (ABI). (ABII, 2023). Whilst ABI at any age can come alongside serious effects, within young adulthood, it can disrupt a person’s social, professional and intellectual development (Gilmore, Mirman and Kiran, 2022). Within an acute hospital setting, the sudden onset of an ABI can evidently create psychosocial disruption to the patient alongside their caregivers. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland highlights the significant effects on the patient’s caregiver in a hospital setting, particularly drawing attention to the stress and information demands caregivers can face during the patient’s hospital stay. (ABII, 2023). According to the frameworks from the Irish Association of Social

Workers (Butler et al., 2024), Medical social workers are in the position to provide psychosocial support to the patient and their families, which includes assisting with their life adjustments through advocacy and support where needed.

Research shows that psychological interventions can improve ‘depression’ and

‘Withdrawal’(Ross et al., 2011), following an ABI. However, it lacks specifics relating to the acute hospital setting and isn’t linked directly to young adults. Additionally, the literature does talk about the caregivers’ perspective, but it is noted by O’Callaghan et al. (2011) that, to overcome support needs for caregivers, there is a need for dedicated time to support in acute settings. Thus showing the limited attention to how supports are delivered in acute hospital settings. Further to this, there is little insight into how effectively social workers meet the caregivers’ needs. For example, within the research, caregivers reported feeling ‘unsupported’ and inconsistent access to services (O’Callaghan et al.,2011), which highlights a gap between the policy goals of family-centred care and the support services within lived experiences.

Aims & Objectives 

This research’s aim is to critically explore the psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults (aged 18-25) with an acquired brain injury (ABI) in acute hospital settings. This research will seek to examine existing literature in order to assess the extent and effectiveness of psychosocial support in the acute hospital phase of care. Additionally, it aims to identify gaps and limitations within the present literature and research and within practice. Whilst exploring the extent to which psychosocial interventions align with the principles of person-centred and family-centred care.

The main objectives within this research is to develop a deep understanding of the role of medical social workers in supporting caregivers within acute setting, critically analysing how the role is currently practised. Its aim is to analyse the types of psychosocial support offered, including advocacy and support, emotional support, crisis intervention and discharge planning (Butler et al., 2024), in order to assess how effective these interventions are in meeting the needs of caregivers of young adults. Another objective is to examine the literature to see if there is noted experience of caregivers of young adults, as it seems to be overlooked within existing literature and research, as they have very broad age categories.

The research will be relevant to social workers, it aims to highlight strengths and limitations in current practice for social workers with ABI patients and their caregivers. The research would aim to contribute to psychosocial support as an evidence based intervention within this context. It aims to further interest Healthcare professionals in understanding family support interventions needed for ABI young adults caregivers in the acute hospital setting.

Research Questions

• What types of psychosocial supports are identified in the literature?
• How effective are they?
• What gaps exist in supporting caregivers specifically?
• Are social workers adequately trained for ABI Contexts?
• What’s missing in acute hospital settings?
• This literature will be analysed through the division of the role of medical social workers, followed by psychosocial support in acute hospital settings, and caregivers ‘ experience. Then it will critically analyse young adult-specific issues, followed by the gaps in the literature.

This research is guided by a multitude of questions in order to critically examine the psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults with an acquired brain injury (ABI) in acute hospital settings. The main question that underpins this research is: the effectiveness of psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers during the acute phase of ABI care? This question was informed through exploring existing literature that highlights how caregivers experience emotional distress and noted they ‘felt they had unmet support needs’ during the acute hospital phase of ABI. (O’Callaghan et al. ,2011). This emphasises the importance of the need for psychosocial intervention in the acute setting.

To address this question, the research aims to explore sub-questions, breaking down the questions into sub sections will give a strong critical analysis to answer the research question.

First question based as, what types of psychosocial supports are identified in the literature?. Such as Emotional support and advocacy and crisis intervention  highlighted through the social worker being aware of the support needs of caregivers. (Butler et al., 2024),  Second question based on how effective are these supports in meeting caregivers’ needs? As a study by (Laurie et al., 2023) it was noted in the research patients felt ‘a lack of psychological support’. The third question stems from reviewing literature and research in ABI and noticing that there is an underrepresentation of young adults, specifically. What gaps exist in supporting caregivers of those caring for young adults aged 18-25?

An additional goal for this research is to examine whether medical social workers are adequately trained for ABI contexts? Drawing on the professional frameworks, such as the developments from the ‘Irish Association of Social Workers’ (Butler et al., 2024), and from Research stating professionals did not feel educated enough in the area of Brain Injury. (Conrick et al.,2023). This research will further explain what is missing in acute hospital settings? Where it’s known that time pressure and limitations may restrict psychosocial support needs. This research will aim to address these questions as a guide to a critical literature review focused on the specifics of the title to provide a deeper understanding of the current social work practice in this context.

Overview Of Literature  

Any brain injury that has occurred within a person’s life, after birth, that typically emerges quickly, is referred to as an acquired brain injury (ABI). (ABII, 2023). This sudden onset of ABI can cause deficiencies in conative, physical and psychological functioning as well as short-term and long-term mood and behavioural difficulties. (Laurie et al., 2023) This psychological disruption not only affects the individual themselves but also their caregiver, whom gain complex emotional and practical roles whilst advocating for the patient (Hwang et al.,2025). Within an acute hospital setting, this period can involve Crisis and rapid decision-making for the caregivers (Hwang et al.,2025), highlighting the need for comprehensive psychosocial intervention. Research by Hwang et al. (2025) provides caregiver experience of emotional distress and support to strengthen a ‘variety of skills’ for emotional coping and decision-making within the acute hospital setting.

Medical social workers in an acute hospital setting have the role of providing psychosocial interventions within the multidisciplinary team. This role includes the use of emotional support, informative support and advocacy (Butler et al., 2024). A qualitative study by Hogsnes et al.(2026, P.2) highlights that medical social workers are essential in providing psychosocial support through ‘tangible’ support and emotional support. This study does, however, highlight the diversity in support provided; the interventions were influenced by the methods of the Social work professional, such as relationship building, rather than standardised practice. This brings up the issue of consistency within the acute hospital setting.

Broader evidence on social work in ABI contexts is limited. This can be seen through a systematic review by Linden et al.(2023), which identifies gaps in training and the ‘need’ for social workers to be trained in ABI. This also explored the need for clarity within social work role. Policy frameworks such as the ‘social work competency framework: acquired brain injury’ (Butler et al., 2024), do outline competencies for social workers to follow in holistic care, but there is insufficient research on how these competencies are implemented in practice. Further to this, it’s been highlighted in research that social workers have reported limited training in brain injury(Conrick et al.,2023). This suggests social work professionals feel uneducated in the area, which could impact the quality of psychosocial support they provide within ABI.

In contrast, there has been evidence of research and literature on psychological interventions within ABI, with the support provided acknowledged as being positive for social support and emotional well-being outcomes. It was found that group psychosocial interventions can reduce depression in ABI and improve social connections (McGlashan et al., 2025). Similarly, Cardile et al. (2024) highlighted the importance of coping strategies, which align with the social work theory of resilience and adaptation, in order to influence ABI recovery. Despite the positive findings, the literature seems to be inconsistent in the psychosocial intervention method. Another crucial gap to note is that the research is in the context of rehabilitation and community rather than acute hospital settings. This leaves the limitations of whether these positives are applicable in the acute care setting.

Additionally, caregivers’ experience can be seen as a frequent theme within the existing literature and research. For example, Fernandes et al., (2024) noted ‘parental anxiety’ as a common theme among parents of individuals with ABI, whilst Tyerman et al.( 2017 ) found a common theme of parental adjustments and explored the family dynamics as an impact on caregivers. Similarly, it was found that 70% of caregivers felt anxious upon discharge (O’Callaghan et al.,2011). The research by O’Callaghan et al, (2011) found reports of insufficient support and limited access to services. It’s important to note that this literature is broad to the ‘family’ or ‘parents’ perspectives but lacks a specific focus on caregivers of young adults.

An underrepresentation can be seen in the literature for young adults. Research undertaken by Paniccia et al. (2019) stress young adults with ABI struggle with understanding their new identity, regaining their independence, and struggle with reintegrating with peers. This suggests age-specific factors for young adults within their ABI recovery. Although this research provides insight into young adult struggles, literature is limited on how these developmental factors can impact the caregivers experience in support. This shows a gap in the evidence of young adults and doesn’t link to social support in acute settings.

The review of this literature has allowed for these key themes to emerge for this research and gaps within the literature. The first being the psychosocial impact of ABI on caregivers is evidently documented, but there are limits in the research due to young adults not being the focus. Secondly, we see the role of medical social workers is seen as central, although there is little evidence of the effectiveness of their interventions in acute hospital settings. Another theme that arose was that caregivers’ experiences reported many gaps in emotional support. In response to these gaps, this research will undertake a critical literature review to evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults with ABI in acute hospital settings.

Outline of Research Design

Methodology  

This research will use a qualitative research methodology, as a desk-based critical literature review, to examine the psychosocial support provided by medical social workers to caregivers of young adults (Aged 18-25) with acquired brain injury (ABI) in acute hospital settings.

A Qualitative approach of social research is appropriate as it aims to investigate and comprehend the subject (Carey,2012)  The reasoning behind the qualitative research is to critically analyse the effectiveness of psychosocial support to the caregivers and explore the effectiveness within practice. This aligns with (Carey, 2012), where it is explained that the reasoning behind qualitative social work research is to assist us in comprehending the situations and context in which we practice within. A  desk-based review methodology is the most suitable approach to this research, particularly with the limited time constraint.

Method of data collection

A desk-based literature review will be the method for gathering a summary of published literature and research on the subject chosen in order to synthesise and summarise the existing material.(Hofman et al., 2018). The desk based research will be useful for this social work research as there are practice guidelines for medical social workers within ABI and these are good sources of knowledge. To identify the relevant literature, I will ensure to agree on the inclusion and exclusion criteria in order to determine search terms that will be used (Hofman et al., 2018). Inclusion criteria will include literature that focuses on ABI, Caregivers of those with ABI, role of medical social work, Psychosocial support and acute hospital settings. This research would aim to focus on any literature that includes young adults aged 18-25, where possible, but broader caregiving research will need to be included where relevant.

Data Analysis

Within this desk-based research, the sampling is the inclusion and exclusion selection of the literature, as it is not primary research. This will explore academic research, literature and policy documents. The sources will be accessed through databases such as Trinity College Dublin Library, Google Scholar and ProQuest.

The Data Analysis for this research will use thematic analysis as a method to analyse the data collected. Carey (2009, P.48) explains thematic analysis as a method that looks for certain themes within the data, like patterns that can be utilised to make conclusions. This research will utilise thematic analysis by following the framework developed by Braun and Clarke (2006). This framework is a six-step data analysis process starting with data familiarisation, initial coding, theme development, and theme review it will then allow for the themes’ significance to be determined and to finalise the report findings. (Braun and Clarke, 2006).

Ethics

Although this research does not directly involve participants, there are still some ethical considerations for this research piece. The reasoning for desk-based research having fewer complex ethical considerations is due to the fact that the research relies on secondary data rather than a targeted population. This was noted by Carey (2009,p.38) that literature reviews are more ‘theoretical and conceptual’ compared to direct research. Overall, the use of existing data sources reduces possible risks to people. This research will utilise the aims of academic interactivity and transparency. This highlights an important ethical issue of accurate referencing to ensure there is no plagiarism. Another ethical issue of a critical literature review is to ensure that the research is critically evaluated so that the findings aren’t misinterpreted.

Limitations

This research will have limitations. As a desk-based study relies solely on secondary data, issues could arise, such as the use of data that is outdated or not directly linked to the specifics of the topic chosen. This is highlighted through Johnson (2017, pp. 624-626) whereby it’s explained that limitations of secondary data include the data collection for a different purpose, and the quality and extent of the search aren’t always aligned. This highlighted the importance of the documents used to ensure the infusion documents aren’t lacking detail or incomplete.

This research may have limited availability on literature specifically focused on young adults aged 18-25, as one of the overall objectives was the noticing of the gap for young adults. In order to minimise these limitations within this research a wide range of sources will be utilised and critically analysed before finalising which sources will be used to ensure its align with the purpose.

Timetable/Work plan  

Conclusion

In conclusion, what will this research bring? It will build on an understanding of how effective psychosocial support is that is provided by a medical social worker to caregivers of young adults with an ABI. The exploration of whether caregivers are adequately supported and what’s missing in practice for social workers within these ABI contexts. This will be achieved through critically analysing existing literature and the identification of gaps within current practice. Overall, the research aims to highlight the gaps and areas that can be strengthened, for the purpose of adequate support for caregivers of young adults with an ABI within acute hospital settings.