In April 2022 a paper was published by several authors from the Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). It focuses on what research can tell us about which rehabilitation services for people with acquired brain injury (ABI) are most cost effective. This paper shows that rehabilitation is a worthwhile investment. Not only does it improve brain injury survivors’ health, but it also saves money.

It is important to have this evidence for the Government to make informed decisions about investing in rehabilitation services that improve the lives of people with ABI and their families. It is also important for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland (ABII) as an advocacy organisation to have that evidence to campaign for increased investment in services for people with ABI.

In Ireland, rehabilitation services are severely underfunded, and many brain injury survivors do not have access to the services they need. This paper emphasises how vital those services are for survivors.

ABII welcome this review and we believe this paper proves there is still a lot of work to do to increase the evidence that shows that rehabilitation is cost-effective. We need a global effort to improve funding and knowledge in this area.

The key message of this paper is that rehabilitation is worth the investment and we need to use this to advocate for increased investment in rehabilitation services for brain injury survivors.

Currently, services are under-developed and under-resourced. More evidence suggesting that rehabilitation is essential and worthwhile can help change the inadequate supply of services for people with brain injuries.