Targeted areas for improving health literacy after traumatic brain injury.
Megan Moore, Taniga Kiatchai, Rajiv C Ayyagari and 1 others
PMID 28816517WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of people hospitalized with traumatic brain injury reported confusion about the injury, care and discharge instructions, and feeling unprepared for caregiving.
They wanted direct communication and clearer written instructions.
Key findings
01Caregivers reported confusion about the patient's condition, care or discharge plan, including difficulty understanding terms in discharge instructions.
02Informal updates were reported by 16 participants and caregiver-initiated communication by 13 participants, while many caregivers wanted more formal direct communication.
03Caregivers felt ill-prepared for discharge and not empowered to take on the caregiving role during hospitalization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was done at a single urban trauma center, so the findings may not apply to other settings. The interviews were with caregivers, not patients, so the findings reflect caregiver reports. The study did not test whether the suggested communication strategies improve health literacy, preparation or outcomes. Participants were caregivers of patients with moderate to severe injuries, so the findings may not apply to milder injuries.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the expanded family-centered care model as a tested intervention. It was built from caregiver interviews and has not been shown to improve outcomes.