‘Flying Coffins’ and Neglected Neuropsychiatric Syndromes in Oman

Abstract

IMPROVING HEALTH SERVICES TO TRAUMATIC
brain injury (TBI) patients and their families is paramount for the social and economical future of any country. The consequences of TBI are varied, but nevertheless devastating, both to the individual and to society in general. Recently there has been tremendous improvement in emergency care, acute medical management and modern neurosurgical interventions in Oman. One obvious omission from this development is neuropsychiatric intervention and rehabilitation using a multidisciplinary approach, including speech therapy and other outreach services, to integrate victims of brain injury back into the community. As in other countries, survivors of TBI are left with irreversible and debilitating neuropsychiatric complications. These complications are critical for the quality of life of both patients and their relatives. Studies have shown that the most important factors predicting the post-rehabilitation adjustment, in addition to the severity of the brain damage, are psychosocial complications such as the nature of emotional and behavioural disturbances, the nature and responses of the family and the extent to which the patient has full insight into their functional impairment.