Social participation and health-related quality of life before and during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in individuals with traumatic brain injury: A follow-up exploratory correlational study.
Alexander Moreno, Hua Sun, Michelle Mckerral
PMID 37389579WHAT IT FOUND
During the second pandemic wave, 18 adults with brain injury had unchanged social participation but lower quality of life, especially emotionally.
More trouble accessing basic resources was linked to worse daily life, emotions, and physical problems.
Key findings
01Overall social participation and disability, measured by the MPAI-4 total and its ability, adjustment, and participation indices, did not differ between before the pandemic and the second wave.
02The total Quality of Life after Brain Injury score and the emotional domain fell from before the pandemic to the second wave, while cognition, self, daily life and autonomy, social relationships, and physical problems did not change significantly.
03During the second wave, more difficulty accessing resources was associated with lower overall quality of life and worse daily life, emotional, and physical problem scores; financial and psychological impacts were not associated with overall quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 18 of the original 36 people were followed up, so the findings may apply mainly to those who could be reached and willing to take part. The sample was small, French-speaking, mostly highly educated, and recruited from one Montreal rehabilitation centre, so it may not generalise to people with TBI who have lower education, speak other languages, or live in different countries. Data were collected by telephone, which may increase drop-out, and the study did not ask whether participants had had COVID-19. The authors describe the results as exploratory, so they are not proof that the pandemic caused the changes. Participants' subjective reports of pandemic impact did not always match the standardized scores: many reported changes in social participation even though MPAI-4 participation-related scores did not change.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the lower emotional quality of life as a confirmed pandemic effect for all adults with TBI. Only 18 of the original 36 people were followed up, the sample was small and highly educated, and the authors state the results are exploratory.