Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment, Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Richmond, VA 23249, USA.
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 17;17(22):8508. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17228508.
Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a serious public health concern. Family members are often caregivers for children with TBI, which can result in a significant strain on familial relationships. Research is needed to examine aspects of family functioning in the context of recovery post-TBI, especially in Latin America, where cultural norms may reinforce caregiving by family members, but where resources for these caregivers may be scarce. This study examined caregiver-reported family satisfaction, communication, cohesion, and flexibility at three time points in the year post-injury for 46 families of a child with TBI in comparison to healthy control families. Families experiencing pediatric TBI were recruited from a large hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico, while healthy controls were recruited from a local educational center. Results from multilevel growth curve models demonstrated that caregivers of children with a TBI reported significantly worse family functioning than controls at each assessment. Families experiencing pediatric TBI were unable to attain the level of functioning of controls during the time span studied, suggesting that these families are likely to experience long-term disruptions in family functioning. The current study highlights the need for family-level intervention programs to target functioning for families affected by pediatric TBI who are at risk for difficulties within a rehabilitation context.
儿科创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是一个严重的公共卫生问题。家庭成员通常是 TBI 患儿的照顾者，这可能会对家庭关系造成重大压力。需要研究 TBI 康复背景下家庭功能的各个方面，特别是在拉丁美洲，那里的文化规范可能强化家庭成员的照顾，但这些照顾者的资源可能稀缺。本研究比较了来自墨西哥瓜达拉哈拉一家大医院的 46 名 TBI 患儿家庭和来自当地教育中心的健康对照组家庭，在受伤后一年的三个时间点上，调查了照顾者报告的家庭满意度、沟通、凝聚力和灵活性。结果表明，TBI 患儿的照顾者在每次评估中报告的家庭功能明显差于对照组。在研究期间，经历儿科 TBI 的家庭无法达到对照组的功能水平，这表明这些家庭可能会长期出现家庭功能障碍。本研究强调需要针对有儿科 TBI 风险的家庭实施家庭层面的干预计划，以解决康复背景下的功能问题。
