Team Based Initiative Support

Study Summary

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been called the signature injury of the Iraq War. This pilot study investigated family needs of 6 rural families caring for a Veteran with TBI. Two Veterans had moderate TBI and all had comorbid post traumatic stress disorder diagnoses. The veterans were 1 to 5 years post-injury. Families were reluctant to include others in helping the family because of privacy concerns, desire for independence, and negative employment repercussions if the extent of the TBI deficit became known in the community. Most were still employed, despite TBI deficits. Despite having previously received information, families still had substantial needs for information about the condition and its prognosis and sequelae (e.g., why things happen, unsafe/frightening behaviors, work, finances, communication changes) and the availability and types of services (e.g., who to contact, benefits, help needed)

Primary Outcome

Six caregivers of TBI patients were interviewed; responses were transcribed and coded; inter-rater agreement was calculated. Themes were lack of understanding about TBI and its long-term effects and the differences between TBI and PTSD, privacy concerns, independence, fear of negative employment/financial repercussions, and difficulty in interactions with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Support Teams

Study Locations (1)