Enhancing the Transition From Hospital to Home for Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury and Families (R03)

Despite high risks of readmission and complex medical needs, there are no transitional care standards in the U.S. for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) discharged home from acute hospital care without inpatient rehabilitation. To enhance the standard of TBI care, we will develop and refine a patient- and family-centered TBI transitional care intervention that addresses specific needs and preferences for patients with TBI (age < 65 years) and families and will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Patients; Family Members; Transitional Care
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: BETTER Transitional Care Intervention

Detailed Description

Despite high risks of readmission and complex medical needs, there are no transitional care standards in the U.S. for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Patients with moderate-to-severe TBI (age < 65 years) discharged home from acute hospital care without inpatient rehabilitation have cognitive, physical, behavioral, and emotional impairments that affect their abilities to independently self-manage their health, wellness, and activities of daily living. Activity limitations often result in increased family involvement for managing the person's care. The complexity of needs combined with the fragmentation of healthcare services creates the perfect storm for mismanaged symptoms, adverse health events, readmissions, and a lower likelihood of return to work and school. Transitional care is defined as actions in the clinical encounter designed to ensure the coordination and continuity of healthcare for patients transferring between different locations or levels of care in close geographic proximity. In other patient groups who experience acute events (e.g., stroke, myocardial infarction), transitional care management has led to improved patient and family outcomes. Although preliminary research shows that patients with TBI and families desire and could benefit from interventions to support the transition from acute hospital care to home, the strength of evidence on this topic is low. TBI transitional care interventions developed to date are ineffective in improving functional outcomes and do not incorporate family needs. Thus, the purpose of our study is to first develop and refine a patient- and family-centered TBI transitional care intervention to support patients with moderate-to-severe TBI and their family caregivers during the transition home from acute hospital care. The intervention will aim to improve quality of life for patients with TBI, reduce strain for their family caregivers, and direct patients and families to appropriate resources and care that is concordant with their health-related goals. Second, we will examine the feasibility and acceptability and assess the preliminary efficacy of the TBI transitional care intervention. The primary outcome will be patient quality of life at 16 weeks post-discharge. This study will also examine secondary outcomes at 16 weeks post-discharge, including family caregiver strain and preparedness for the caregiving role, and patient and family caregiver self-efficacy and healthcare utilization. The new knowledge generated from the proposed research will guide the research team in designing and conducting an NIH R01 implementation-effectiveness clinical trial of the TBI transitional care intervention and will ultimately enhance the standard of care for patients with TBI discharged home from acute hospital care and families

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27701
      • Duke University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients: age 18-64 years, diagnosis of mild-moderate TBI based on Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9-14; sufficient cognitive functioning and oral communication skills to participate (as determined by Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test); set to be discharged directly home from acute hospital care; and has smart phone or computer with internet access.
• Family caregiver: age 18 years or older, primary caregiver for patient post-discharge (i.e., plans to live in same home as person or have direct contact with person >10 hours/week); and has smart phone or computer with internet access.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients: who do not have a family caregiver who is willing to participate; prior neurological disorder affecting the brain or language or learning disability

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention	Behavioral: BETTER Transitional Care Intervention; Patient and family will receive pre- and post-discharge support and education from interventionist.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Quality of Life as Measured by the Short Form-36 (SF-36)	The SF-36 determines participants' overall quality of life by assessing 1) limitations in physical functioning due to health problems; 2) limitations in usual role because of physical health problems; 3) bodily pain; 4) general health perceptions; 5) vitality; 6) limitations in social functioning because of physical or emotional problems; 7) limitations in usual role due to emotional problems; and 8) general mental health. Scores on each item are summed and averaged (range: 0=worst to 100=best).	Baseline (24-72 hours pre-discharge) and 16-weeks post-discharge

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (CPS)	The CPS is a caregiver self-rated instrument that consists of eight items that asks caregivers how well prepared they believe they are for multiple domains of caregiving. Responses are rated on a 5 point scale with scores ranging from 0 (not at all prepared) to 4 (very well prepared). Total score range is 0 to 32, where a higher score indicates the caregiver feels more prepared for caregiving.	Baseline (24-72 hours pre-discharge) and 16-weeks post-discharge

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Modified Caregiver Strain Index	Caregiver strain	Baseline (24-72 hours pre-discharge) and 8- and 16-weeks post-discharge
Change in Health Service Utilization Inventory	Health service utilization	Baseline (24-72 hours pre-discharge) and 8- and 16-weeks post-discharge
Change in Self-efficacy for Managing Chronic Conditions	Self-efficacy	Baseline (24-72 hours pre-discharge) and 8- and 16-weeks post-discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Duke University
• Collaborators: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tolu O Oyesanya, PhD, RN, Duke University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Oyesanya TO, Loflin C, You H, Kandel M, Johnson K, Strauman T, Yang Q, Hawes J, Byom L, Gonzalez-Guarda R, Van Houtven C, Agarwal S, Bettger JP. Design, methods, and baseline characteristics of the Brain Injury Education, Training, and Therapy to Enhance Recovery (BETTER) feasibility study: a transitional care intervention for younger adult patients with traumatic brain injury and caregivers. Curr Med Res Opin. 2022 May;38(5):697-710. doi: 10.1080/03007995.2022.2043657. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 17, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 15, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 6, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): October 14, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 15, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 11, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Craniocerebral Trauma; Trauma, Nervous System; Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Wounds and Injuries; Brain Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro00103181

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Please contact PI for underlying research materials.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No