Changes in social participation between 1 and 2 years following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury.
Tessa Hart, Amanda Rabinowitz
PMID 36189074WHAT IT FOUND
Most people with moderate-to-severe brain injury showed stable social participation between 1 and 2 years post-injury.
Decline was linked to worsening functional status, while improvement was associated with having private insurance and lower baseline social participation.
Key findings
01Three-quarters of the sample remained the same within the bounds of the Reliable Change Index, while approximately equal proportions showed improvement and decline.
02Greater positive change in social participation was associated with lower levels of social participation at Year 1, private insurance, and stable or improved functional status on the FIM.
03A decline in physical or cognitive status could signal a reduction in social contact.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was limited to people able to provide self-report data, so findings may not apply to more severely impaired individuals. The study did not include people with mild TBI. The model accounted for a modest amount of variance (28.5%), suggesting other unmeasured factors influence change. The PART-O measures frequency of activities but not satisfaction with social participation. Data was collected at a single center, which may limit generalizability.
Declared interests
Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The authors declared no commercial or financial conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the stability of social participation scores for most patients as a lack of need for intervention. The average scores remained low compared to non-disabled populations, indicating that even 'stable' participation may be sub-optimal.