The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has announced the theme for International Nurses Day 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. The theme highlights the urgent need to support, value and empower nurses so they can continue delivering safe, effective and compassionate care in increasingly complex healthcare environments.
This message strongly resonates with the work of the YARNS Transitions nursing research team. Over the past three years, our research has focused on developing a nurse-led, holistic neurological rehabilitation intervention to support the psychosocial rehabilitation and survivorship of young adults following an acquired brain injury (ABI).
Funded by the RCN Foundation in partnership with the charity SameYou, the YARNS Transitions project brought together researchers, clinicians, and experts by experience from across the four nations of the United Kingdom. Together, we sought to better understand how nurses can support young adults as they transition from the hospital back into their communities following stroke or ABI.
Why this research matters
Young adults recovering from an acute brain injury (ABI) often experience significant emotional, psychological and social challenges long after leaving hospital. While physical rehabilitation pathways are often established, psychosocial rehabilitation can remain fragmented or inconsistent. Our research sought to identify how best to support young adults following an ABI.
Developing a nurse-led intervention
The first YARNS study, which explored online messages shared by young adults recovering from ABI, highlighted the ongoing difficulties many people face when returning home, reconnecting socially, rebuilding confidence, and navigating recovery. This identified a clear need for a new approach that could better support young adults during this critical stage of recovery.
Our study used a realist evaluation approach to identify what works, for whom, and under what circumstances in psychosocial rehabilitation.
The project was delivered across three work packages.
Reviewing the evidence
We began with an extensive realist literature review, examining international evidence and theories relating to psychosocial rehabilitation after ABI. Initially, ten programme theories were identified.
Learning from lived experience
These theories were then explored through interviews, workshops and co-design activities involving:
- Young adults with lived experience of ABI
- Health professionals involved in stroke and neurological rehabilitation
- Experts by experience and service providers
Participants challenged, refined and strengthened the developing intervention model, ensuring it reflected real-world needs and experiences.
Designing the SPARK model
Through collaborative workshops and prioritisation exercises, the original ten theories were refined into key components that informed the development of the SPARK model: – Supporting the PsychosociAl Rehabilitation needs of young adults with acquired brain injury and stroKe.
The SPARK model is a flexible, person-centred intervention designed to support young adults as they return home after ABI. It promotes:
• Individualised psychosocial support
• Flexible delivery through face-to-face or hybrid approaches
• Rehabilitation tailored to the young person’s pace and priorities
• Strong interdisciplinary collaboration
• Timely referral to wider health and social care services when needed
The opportunity for face-to-face or hybrid delivery acknowledges potential challenges related to transportation, mobility and accessibility.
Importantly, SPARK recognises the central coordinating role nurses play in rehabilitation and survivorship care.
Check out the next blog post for Part 2
Acknowledgements
The YARNS Transitions research team would like to thank the RCN Foundation and SameYou Charity for their financial and logistical support, as well as the advisory committee members whose guidance, expertise and encouragement were invaluable throughout the project.
YARNS Transitions Research Team:
• Professor Elaine Haycock-Stuart
• Professor Danny Kelly
• Professor Aisha Holloway
• Dr Colin Chandler
• Dr Lisette Aviles
• Dr Clarissa Catherine
• Dr Rosie Stenhouse
• Dr Oisin Cleary
