Self-Reported Psychosocial Health Among Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury

McCarthy ML, Dikmen SS, Langlois JA, Selassie AW, Gu JK, Horner MD. Self-reported psychosocial health among adults with traumatic brain injury.ObjectiveTo measure the subjective psychosocial health of a population-based sample of adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).DesignRetrospective, cohort study involving a 1-year postinjury interview.SettingSixty-two acute care, nonfederal hospitals in South Carolina.ParticipantsPersons (≥15y) hospitalized with TBI.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasureThe psychosocial health scales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.ResultsOf the 7612 participants, 29% reported poor psychosocial health. Factors associated with poor psychosocial well-being included younger age, female sex, Medicaid coverage, no health insurance, inadequate or moderate social support, comorbidities (eg, a preinjury substance abuse problem), cognitive complaints, and some or a lot of limitation with activities of daily living. Only 36% of participants who reported poor psychosocial health reported receiving any mental health services.ConclusionsA substantial proportion of persons hospitalized with TBI reported poor psychosocial health at 1 year postinjury. To optimize recovery, clinicians need to ensure that patients’ psychosocial health needs are addressed during the postacute period.