Psychosocial functioning following moderate-to-severe pediatric traumatic brain injury: recommended outcome instruments for research and remediation studies

ABSTRACT

Psychosocial functioning is compromised following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), with the past few decades witnessing a proliferation of research examining the effect of childhood brain insult on a range of psychosocial outcomes. This paper describes the systematic recommendation of outcome instruments to address psychosocial functioning following pediatric TBI.

A total of 65 instruments across 11 psychosocial areas (i.e., Global Outcome, Communication, Social Cognition, Behavioural and Executive Function, Other Neuropsychological Functioning, Psychological Status, TBI-related Symptoms, Activities and Participation, Support and Relationships, Sense of Self, and Health-Related Quality of Life) were reviewed using various assessment methods, including working groups, literature searches, comparisons with selection guidelines, and international expert opinion. Each measure was reviewed for its usefulness across early recovery, intervention, and outcome related studies.

34 instruments were recommended and classified according to the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health taxonomy and categorised by psychosocial area.

This compilation provides a common framework to guide the activities of clinicians and researchers in psychosocial rehabilitation. It is anticipated that these will foster a multidisciplinary approach to psychosocial dysfunction to enhance the evaluation, prediction, and improvement of functional outcomes for those with pediatric TBI.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Pediatric
• Psychosocial
• Outcome assessment
• Outcome instuments
• Remediation
• Research
• Recommendations

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Francesca Hill, Crystal Yau, and Melinda Drew for their invaluable administrative assistance for this project. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the following postdoctoral research fellows for their time with the preparation of the outcome instrument briefs: Dr Phoebe Kho. We would like to thank the following members of the distinguished Expert Advisory Board for their time in reviewing and providing feedback on the recommendations: Professor Gerry Taylor, Dr Catherine Aaro Jonsson, Professor Gavin Davis, Professor Lyn Tursktra, Professor Jeffrey Max, Dr Harvey Levin, Professor Keith Yates, Associate Professor Miriam Beauchamp, Ms Jane Galvin, and Dr Ingrid van’t Hooft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Travis Wearne http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7565-9163

Vicki Anderson http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5233-3147

Angela Morgan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1147-7405

Jennie Ponsford http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0430-125X

Tamara Ownsworth http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1835-7094

Leanne Togher http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-6748

Jennifer Fleming http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5603-2410

Jacinta Douglas http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0940-6624

Kimberley Docking http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9996-7235

Cynthia Honan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5735-4270

Skye McDonald http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0723-6094

Additional information

Funding

The Moving Ahead Centre for Research Excellence is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the period 2012-2017.