Date Presented 03/23/24
Falls are a common cause of recurrent traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and rehospitalization after TBI. This poster presentation will provide an overview of the impact of these falls on occupational performance and caregiver health and well-being.
Primary Author and Speaker: Amanda Acord-Vira
Additional Authors and Speakers: Steven Wheeler, Sarah McAninch
Contributing Authors: Cortland Nesley
PURPOSE: This pilot study examined the prevalence of falls after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the impact on occupational performance and the caregiver’s overall health and well-being. Falls are the most common cause of rehospitalization and mechanism of recurrent TBIs (Theadom et al., 2015; Saverino et al., 2016). Falls account for 52.5% of recurrent TBIs when a fall was the initial mechanism of injury, 37.5% occurred during participation in sports/recreation, and 13.9% during activities of daily living (Theadom et al., 2015).
DESIGN: Pilot study, descriptive, quantitative, survey-based research design exploring the experiences of caregivers.
METHOD: An online survey was developed to gain information about assistance provided, history of falls, and caregiver strain. Nineteen caregivers participated in this study with ages ranging from 40 to 79, with 42.1% in the age range of 40-49 and 26.3% in the age range 50-59. The ages of the person receiving care ranged from 6 to 79, with 5 (29%) being 18 years and younger. Caregivers provided assistance 7 days a week (84.2%) for greater than 4 hours per day (63.2%).
RESULTS: Twelve caregivers (63.2%) reported the person with TBI has fallen at least once, with 3 (15.8%) reporting more than 10 falls. The presence of falls is positively correlated with higher caregiver strain (p<.05), lower mobility (p<.05), and lower community mobility (p<.05).
CONCLUSION: Over half of the caregivers reported caring for a person who has fallen after their initial diagnosis of TBI. Those with a history of falls, required more assistance to complete functional activities from their caregivers, significantly impacting the caregiver’ level of strain (Devi et al., 2020).
IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely qualified to address areas of daily living for both the caregivers and persons receiving care by providing rehabilitation focused on reducing environmental barriers and the strain experienced by the caregivers.
References
Devi, Y., Khan, S., Rana, P., Deepak, Dhandapani, M., Ghai, S., Gopichandran, L., & Dhandapani, S. (2020). Cognitive, Behavioral, and Functional Impairments among Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors: Impact on Caregiver Burden. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 11(4), 629–635. https://doi-org.wvu.idm.oclc.org/10.1055/s-0040-1716777
Saverino, C., Swaine, B., Jaglal, S., Lewko, J., Vernich, L., Voth, J., Calzavara, A., & Colantonio, A. (2016) Rehospitalization after traumatic brain injury: A population-based study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 97(2 Suppl 1), S19–S25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2015.04.016
Theadom, A., Parmar, P., Jones, K., Barker-Collo, S., Starkey, J. N., McPherson, M. K., Ameratunga, S., & Feigin, L. V. (2015) Frequency and impact of recurrent traumatic brain injury in a population-based sample. Journal of Neurotrama, 32, 674–681. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2014.3579.
