Model System:

TBI

Reference Type:

Journal

Accession No.:

J71792

Journal:


Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation

Year, Volume, Issue, Page(s):

, 30, 3, E33-E40

Publication Website:

Abstract:

Study investigated factors associated with shorter length of study participation and lower rates of study completion (i.e., attrition) in a large, multisite, longitudinal, randomized, clinical trial examining the efficacy of a Web-based family problem-solving treatment following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adolescence. The project was conducted at 5 major trauma centers in the central and western regions of the United States. Participants and their families were asked to complete questionnaires and interviews at each of 4 data collection points: baseline and 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups. Participants and their families who completed all 4 interviews were considered to have successfully completed the study. The final groups included 132 children, aged 12 to 17 years, hospitalized for complicated mild to severe TBI within the previous 6 months: 51 participants with severe TBI and 81 participants with moderate TBI; 101 completers and 31 non-completers. Attrition was 6 percent at the 6-month follow-up, 16 percent at the 12-month follow-up, and 25 percent at the 18-month follow-up, yielding a completion rate of 75 percent. Completers had a higher primary caregiver education and higher family income than non-completers, whereas ethnicity, latency to baseline assessment, and intervention group were not significantly associated with study completion. Findings suggest that research on pediatric TBI populations may be biased toward higher-income families and highlights the importance of designing studies with increased awareness of the impact of participant demographic factors.

Author(s):


Blaha, Robert Z., Arnett, Anne B., Kirkwood, Michael W., Taylor, H. Gerry, Stancin, Terry, Brown, Tanya M., Wade, Shari L.

Participating Centers: