Deficit of Awareness in Traumatic Brain Injury

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A growing body of literature has documented the frequent occurence of impaired awareness of deficits Following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its potential implication for rehabilitation. Despite its clinical significance, current understanding of this construct has been limited by factors such as frequent utilization of clinical/convenience samples and lack of clinical comparison groups in the literature. Further, the course of awareness deficits over time is poorly understood due to a lack of longitudinal studies. This study aims to advance our current understanding of awareness by exploring this construct in a non-select group of TBI patients from one month to three to five years post injury. Awareness will be measured in terms of discrepancy between patient's self-report of functioning and the report of their significant other. This study will provide information about the incidence of awareness deficits in TBI over time and clarify the contribution of patient related (e.g., emotional status, neuropsychological impairments, TBI severity) and significant other related variables (e.g., depression of significant other, burden of caring for patient) that predict poor rating concordance. Finally, a general trauma comparison group will be utilized to evaluate the unique contribution of cognitive impairments associated with TBI to awareness. This study will provide significant information about the mechanisms underlying poor rating concordance and awareness, which should have implications for understanding complicated clinical recoveries and targeted rehabilitation interventions. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]