Evaluation of the Patient Generated Index as a measure of quality-of-life in people with severe traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objectives: Quality-of-life (QoL) measures may be useful in quantifying the personal impact of an acquired brain injury and as an indicator of the effectiveness of service provision. This study investigated the validity of the Patient Generated Index (PGI) as a measure of QoL with a sample of adults who had sustained a severe traumatic brain injury.

Method: Fifty-five participants with an acquired brain injury were selected from four regional rehabilitation centres. Each participant completed validated questionnaires measuring subjective satisfaction with life, community integration, emotional distress, socially desirable responding and the Patient Generated Index.

Results: The criterion-related validity of the PGI was demonstrated through a statistically significant positive correlation with life satisfaction. Evidence of construct validity was observed through significant correlations with measures of emotional distress and community integration. Depression had a strong negative association with QoL. Social desirability correlated significantly with both indices of QoL, suggesting that this variable may be treated as a covariate.

Conclusion: The results offer some preliminary evidence for the validity of the PGI as a measure of QoL in people with severe brain injury.

• Traumatic brain injury
• quality-of-life
• Patient Generated Index

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to pay special tribute to Dr Niamh Nangle, whose untimely death occurred following the completion of this research. Dr Nangle's input was crucial to the genesis and development of this project. The input of staff and participation of service users from Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is gratefully acknowledged.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.