Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to persistent neurological impairments and elevate the risk of neurodegenerative disease development. Despite this, clinical management and patient education beyond the acute rehabilitation period remains limited. This two-part study examined healthcare professionals' knowledge of long-term TBI outcomes and co-developed an educational infographic with individuals with lived experience of TBI to potentially aid clinicians with patient communication. In Part 1, 76 healthcare professionals from five countries completed an online survey. Respondents reported persistent impairments post-mild TBI included attention, balance, and depression, while moderate-severe TBI was associated with executive dysfunction, gait issues, and depression. Monitoring durations were longer for moderate-severe than mild TBI (M = 30 vs 13.8 months). Social supports, subjective complaints (mild TBI), and objective impairments (severe TBI) extended monitoring. 55% were aware of TBI-related neurodegenerative risk, with monitoring adjusted by pre-injury health and genetic risk. A major finding was uncertainty around communicating risks without causing alarm. In Part 2, twelve individuals with TBI (M age = 55.6, SD = 20.5; 58% female) co-designed an infographic on persistent impairments and recovery. Participants highlighted limited post-injury follow-up. Following two feedback rounds, 8 of 9 respondents endorsed the final infographic, offered as a co-designed tool exemplar for clinical implementation.
Ellul et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: