Health and wellness characteristics of persons with traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE

To describe health and wellness characteristics of persons with TBI living in the community, compare to other disability populations and evaluate the associations between health-related constructs.

DESIGN

Observational.

SETTING

Outpatient rehabilitation hospital and a Veterans Affairs Medical Centre.

PARTICIPANTS

Seventy-four community-dwelling adults with moderate-to-severe TBI.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MAIN MEASURES

Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II), Self Rated Abilities Health Practices Scale (SRAHP), Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Scale (BHPAD), Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Health Status Survey Short Form (SF-12), Personal Resource Questionnaire-adapted (PRQ-a), Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS), Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective (PART-O).

RESULTS

Health-promoting behaviours, self-efficacy and barriers to health were comparable to other disability populations. Perceived health status, participation and life satisfaction were decreased. Measures of health promotion and self-efficacy were positively associated with perceived mental health status, life satisfaction and participation. Barriers to healthy activities were negatively associated with health promotion, self-efficacy and perceived mental health status.

CONCLUSIONS

Health and wellness status was below desired levels for the study cohort, and comparable to other disability populations. Better understanding of associations among health-related constructs is needed. Continued research on conceptually-based health and wellness interventions for persons with TBI is recommended.