Refining understanding of life satisfaction in elderly persons with traumatic brain injury using age-defined cohorts: a TBI model systems study

ABSTRACT

Objective: Examine effects of age cohort on post-injury life satisfaction in elderly persons with TBI

Design: Retrospective cohort

Setting: TBI Model Systems centers.

Participants: 5,109 elderly participants with TBI in the TBI Model Systems National Database

Interventions: Not applicable

Main Outcome Measures: Demographics, injury characteristics and cause, outcomes, age at time of analysis, time to follow commands, maximum follow-up period, and scores on the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective (PART-O) scores at 1, 2, 5, or 10 years post-injury.

Results: Life satisfaction post-TBI across groups increased with age. The young-old sub-group demonstrated the poorest life satisfaction outcomes, while the oldest sub-group experienced greatest life satisfaction. In contrast, participation decreased with age.

Conclusions: Findings show diversity in satisfaction with life following moderate to severe TBI for three elderly age-cohorts. Differences may be due to variations in generation-based lived experience, in perceived meaningfulness of participation, could echo prior evidence of greater resilience in the oldest group, or could reflect bias within the study sample. Further research into between- and within- differences for elderly TBI age cohorts is needed to more precisely meet their needs for physical and functional rehabilitation as well as psychological supports.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• elderly
• post-acute
• participation
• life satisfaction

Acknowledgments

The contents of this publication were developed under grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR): Indiana University School of Medicine (grant #90DRTB0002); Rusk Rehabilitation (grant #90DPTB0100); Spaulding/Harvard (grant #90DPTB0011); University of Alabama (grant #90DPTB0015); Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (grant #90DPTB0004), a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) have no conflicts of interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).