Recovery Insights Lab · Research direction

Survivor-defined recovery outcomes

What matters to survivors that current recovery measures may miss?

The research question

Are we measuring the parts of recovery that people are actually trying to regain?

A person may improve on a clinical measure and still struggle to return to work, parent a child, manage daily life, rebuild relationships, or take part in the community.

This work asks where survivor-defined priorities align with existing recovery measures—and where important parts of recovery remain invisible.

Research model

Survivor voice at the center of recovery research

The visual shows what people say matters, how those priorities are compared with existing measures, and how better questions can move forward for testing.

Survivor-defined recovery outcomes research model Survivor voice is at the center, surrounded by meaningful recovery domains. The approach moves from listening through piloting and produces concrete research deliverables. Cognition think · remember · focus Emotional health mood·anxiety·confidence Relationships & social connection Work, school & purpose Independence & daily life Community participation Fatigue & energy Quality of life what matters most WHAT DOES RECOVERY MEAN TO YOU? Survivor voice at the center OUR APPROACH LISTEN Survivor & caregiver discussions CODE Identify themes and domains CROSSWALK Compare with existing measures CO-DESIGN Develop supplemental questions PILOT Test clarity, feasibility and relevance KEY DELIVERABLES Survivor-defined recovery domains v1.0 Measure-coverage matrix Supplemental question module pilot-ready Research brief for clinical & community partners
A more complete picture of recovery. Because what matters to survivors matters.

Contribute to this work

Recovery Insights Lab brings together lived experience, clinical knowledge, and community expertise. We welcome people and organizations who can help make this work more useful and grounded.

Survivors & families

Share what meaningful recovery looks like

Contribute through surveys, interviews, structured feedback, or future advisory opportunities.

Clinicians & rehabilitation programs

Help connect questions to practice

Partner on follow-up, clinical relevance, feasibility, and testing in rehabilitation or neurorecovery settings.

Researchers & community partners

Help strengthen the framework

Contribute measurement expertise, survivor engagement experience, or knowledge of longer-term recovery and participation.

What this work will produce

A more meaningful way to measure recovery

A survivor-informed recovery framework that shows where existing measures align with lived priorities, where important gaps remain, and which questions should move forward for testing in clinical research and follow-up.