Long-term functional outcome of older adults after a traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: To identify factors associated with long-term independence in mobility and self-care activities of daily living of older adults after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred thirty-six TBI survivors 55 years or older were assessed 2 to 4 years postinjury (mean of 3.2 years).

SETTING

Level I or level II trauma centers in Quebec, Canada.

MAIN MEASURES: Personal, injury-related, and environmental factors were gathered from hospital records or by telephone interview; a telephone version of the Functional Independence Measure motor scale was collapsed to 4 levels.

ANALYSIS: Logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with independence in mobility and self-care.

RESULTS

The strongest and most consistent factors associated with independence in mobility and self-care were fewer comorbid conditions, no difficulty of access to home modification services and home support services, male gender, younger age at time of injury, and shorter acute care length of stay.

CONCLUSION

Factors associated with long-term functional outcome should be considered in the development of practice guidelines for rehabilitation of older adults who sustained a TBI.