This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Relationships After TBI. Dr. Emilie E. Godwin discusses Impact of Coupled Relationship on Recovery.

Why should we care about relationships and the impact after brain injury? I think that we should care for a number of reasons. First of all, a coupled relationship is the foundation of our society and most societies. The couple is the unit within the family usually, typically. And families are who make up our society. Also from a medical perspective we know that there’s a significant impact on the civility of a relationship and the satisfaction of a relationship and a patient’s health and well being. A number of other areas outside of brain injury have shown that the coupled relationship has a profound impact on rehabilitation outcomes and long term health and longevity.

And so I think we can assume both from our clinical perspectives and from the beginning research that we’ve done that marital stability, martial quality and when I say marital quality I mean coupled quality, has a significant impact on how well patients will do in the long term.

Visit https://msktc.org/tbi and get the answers you need from experts who conduct innovative and high-quality research, provide patient care, and work to improve the health and overall quality of life for people with traumatic brain injury. That’s https://msktc.org/tbi.