Service utilization following traumatic brain injury

Objectives: To document service utilization by people with a traumatic brai n injury at different times postinjury and to identify factors that predict service use. Design: Cross-sectional study design. Four groups of subjects were randomly selected from a regional database, according to their time p ostinjury: 6-18 months; 2-4 years; 6-9 years; and 10-17 years. Subjects: A total of 119 adults with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) Setting: Hospital a nd community-based clients in Sydney Australia. Outcome measures: Glasgow O utcome Scale, Disability Rating Scale; Functional Independence Measure; Lid combe Psychosocial Disability Scale; number, type, and frequency of service s used in the previous 12 months. Results: Subjects in all four groups used a variety of services. The mean number of services used was 4.2, and there was only a moderate decline in service use over time. The use of medical a nd allied health services remained high in all four groups. Severity of inj ury, physical and cognitive disability, and psychosocial disability were al l predictors of service utilization. Psychosocial disability was strongly a ssociated with ongoing service utilization. Conclusion: In this study, peop le with TBI used services well beyond the early stage of recovery Psychosoc ial disability may be a better predictor of service use than physical and c ognitive disability alone.