Do we need to know about cyberscams in neurorehabilitation? A cross-sectional scoping survey of Australasian clinicians and service providers

Kate Rachel Gould; Matthew Carolan; Jennie Louise Ponsford

doi:10.1071/IB23012

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Do we need to know about cyberscams in neurorehabilitation? A cross-sectional scoping survey of Australasian clinicians and service providers

Kate Rachel Gould

^A ^B ^* , Matthew Carolan ^A ^B and Jennie Louise Ponsford ^A ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, Epworth Hospital, 185-187 Hoddle Street, Richmond, VIC, 3121, Australia

^B Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 18 Innovation Walk, Clayton Campus, VIC, 3800, Australia

^* Correspondence to: kate.gould@monash.edu

Brain Impairment 24(2) 229-244 https://doi.org/10.1017/BrImp.2022.13

Submitted: 19 September 2021 Accepted: 23 March 2022 Published: 5 May 2022

© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Cyberscams, such as romance scams, are prevalent and costly online hazards in the general community. People with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) may be particularly vulnerable and have greater difficulty recovering from the resultant emotional and financial hardships. In order to build capacity in the neurorehabilitation sector, it is necessary to determine whether clinicians currently encounter this issue and what prevention and intervention approaches have been found effective. This scoping study aimed to explore clinicians’ exposure to and experiences with cyberscams in their adult clients with ABI.

Method:

Participants were clinicians recruited from multidisciplinary networks across Australia and New Zealand. Eligible participants (n = 101) completed an online customised survey.

Results:

More than half (53.46%) the participants had one or more clients affected by cyberscams, predominantly romance scams. Cognitive impairments and loneliness were reportedly associated with increased vulnerability. Cyberscams impacted treatment provision and were emotionally challenging for participants. No highly effective interventions were identified.

Conclusions:

These findings indicate that cyberscams are a clinical issue relevant to neurorehabilitation providers, with prevalence studies now required. The lack of effective interventions identified underscores the need for the development of evidence-based prevention and treatment approaches to ultimately help people with ABI safely participate in online life.

Keywords: Acquired brain injury, rehabilitation, cybercrime, cross-sectional design, clinicians.

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