Ca. Trombly et al., ACHIEVEMENT OF SELF-IDENTIFIED GOALS BY ADULTS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - PHASE-I, The American journal of occupational therapy, 52(10), 1998, pp. 810-818
Objective. This study sought to determine whether persons with traumat
ic brain injury who received outpatient occupational therapy services
achieved self-identified goals related to tasks of daily life. Method.
Sixteen participants completed the study Occupational therapists used
their usual treatment procedures to restore independence in home and
community occupational functioning. The Canadian Occupational Performa
nce Measure identified the five most important problems that interfere
d with independence in the roles the participant valued as well as the
participant's perception of performance ability and satisfaction with
performance. Coal Attainment Scaling documented achievement of the fi
ve self-identified goals. The independent Living Skills Evaluation (IL
SE) and the Reintegration to Normal Living Scale (RNL) measured change
s in overall instrumental activities of daily living and community rei
ntegration. Results. The participants significantly achieved (p <.001)
their goals from admission to discharge, rated themselves as performi
ng significantly better (p <.001), and were significantly more satisfi
ed (P =.001) with performance after treatment than before. Additionall
y they improved significantly on the ILSE (p <. 001) and the RNL (p <.
001) from admission to discharge. There were no significant changes in
perfoemance from discharge to follow-up on any of the scales. Conclus
ion. Although causality cannot be inferred, it can be concluded that p
articipants attending outpatient occupational therapy significantly im
proved, and improvements were sustained after discharge, but no furthe
r improvement occurred spontaneously.