Patient satisfaction with rehabilitation services following traumatic brain injury: a quality registry study.
Camilla G Hovset, Cecilie Røe, Helene L Søberg and 4 others
PMID 39539069WHAT IT FOUND
Belief in recovery was the strongest predictor of satisfaction with TBI rehabilitation, increasing odds by 2.73 times.
Longer wait times decreased satisfaction odds by 61% for outpatient clinics and 50% for primary care. Higher symptom burden predicted lower satisfaction with specialized outpatient care.
Key findings
01Belief in recovery was the strongest factor associated with satisfaction, with patients believing in recovery having 2.73 times higher odds of being satisfied with outpatient services and 2.90 times higher odds for primary healthcare services.
02Longer time from injury to follow-up was associated with decreased odds of satisfaction, with each additional month of wait time reducing satisfaction odds by 61% for outpatient services and 50% for primary healthcare.
03Higher post-concussion symptom burden (RPQ) was associated with lower odds of satisfaction with hospital outpatient rehabilitation services.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The response rate to the quality indicators was low (approximately 30% of the registry population), introducing potential selection bias. Satisfaction and belief in recovery were measured using single, non-validated questions developed specifically for the registry. The study population was predominantly mild TBI (91%), limiting generalizability to severe TBI cases. The study design is cross-sectional and cannot establish causality between factors and satisfaction. Non-responders differed from responders in gender, marital status, education, and symptom burden, which may affect the validity of the findings.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Foundation Dam. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the association between belief in recovery and satisfaction as evidence that improving patient belief will directly cause higher satisfaction. The study is observational and cross-sectional, so the direction of the relationship is unclear; satisfied patients may simply be more likely to believe in recovery, or both may be influenced by unmeasured factors like quality of communication or baseline prognosis.