Quality of life after traumatic brain injury: A review of research approaches and findings

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Article reviews existing knowledge of the quality of life (QOL) of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and makes recommendations for future research in this area. Research relevant to the following areas is discussed: (1) QOL as achievements, (2) QOL as subjective well-being (SWB), (3) QOL as utility, (4) QOL experienced, and (5) methods and instruments available for measuring QOL for people with TBI. Findings indicated that studies of QOL as achievements showed that people with TBI scored lower than they did before injury and lower than comparison groups. Research into QOL as SWB shows that after TBI, people typically report somewhat lower satisfaction and affect than do comparison groups, and that injury severity is not necessarily a predictor of SWB. There are almost no studies of QOL as utility of life after TBI. Major research recommendations include: exploring the ability of TBI subjects to self-report, determining the salience of domains of life for this group, developing utility instruments that are sensitive to differences in deficits in cognition and other health and life domains; and doing qualitative studies that explore the experience of QOL.

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