At a glance
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Problem Solving Training for Care Partners of Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating Problem Solving Training (PST) and Education for Care Partners of Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Completed, enrolled 94 participants across 4 sites.
Detailed Summary
Importance: The chronic consequences of TBI are established, but ongoing support for adults with TBI living in the community is limited. This puts undue burden on care partners, particularly during the transition from hospital to home. It often leads to adverse consequences among care partners, such as emotional distress and increased substance abuse. Currently, there are no evidence-based interventions for care partners of adults with TBI to prepare them for this role. Problem Solving Training (PST) is an evidence-based, self-management approach with demonstrated efficacy for care partners of individuals with disabilities, but it has not been delivered or evaluated during inpatient rehabilitation. Aims: Aim 1): To assess the feasibility of providing PST to care partners of adults with TBI during the inpatient rehabilitation stay; Aim 2) To assess the efficacy of PST + education vs education alone for improving caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, and coping skills Method: The investigators will conduct a randomized control trial of PST + Education vs Education alone during the inpatient rehabilitation stay of individuals with TBI. The investigators will enroll 172 care partners and conduct baseline assessment, with follow-up assessment at 1 month and 6 months post-discharge. For Aim 1, the investigators will measure number of sessions of PST completed and care partner satisfaction. For Aim 2, the investigators will compare differences in PST+Educaion vs. Education alone in measures of caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, and coping skills at 1-month and 6-months post-discharge. Conclusion: The investigators anticipate that care partners will be able to complete a minimum of 3 sessions during the inpatient rehabilitation stay and that PST + Education will be more effective than Education alone for reducing caregiver burden and depressive symptoms and improving positive coping among care partners. PST is an evidence-based, self-management approach with a strong theoretical foundation that has demonstrated efficacy for care partners of individuals with disabilities. Early work indicates that it is also effective for care partners of adults with TBI. However, there are no studies evaluating whether delivery of PST to care partners is feasible during inpatient rehabilitation. The proposed project builds upon this foundation of evidence to address this critical gap in the literature. It will provide evidence for effective ways to support and improve outcomes for care partners during the transition from hospital to home.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
The PST intervention consists of six sessions that will follow a structured format based on the PST manual. In these sessions, the interventionist will first provide the TBI-specific education, introduce the participant to the PST steps, then help the care partner generate and select a problem to address first. Interventionist will facilitate the care partner's use of the ABCDEF steps of PST to develop a specific action plan to solve the problem. As problems are attempted or solved, the care partner will learn how to perform the steps on his/her own, thus acquiring self-management problem solving skills that will be applicable to future problems. The final session will include a review and generalization of the PST steps and progress made.
Participants will receive TBI-specific education alone through a workbook. It consists of educational modules for self-study, common sequelae of TBI, issues encountered by care partners, work and school concerns for those with TBI, and on navigating the rehab system and accessing resources. The modules consist of a brief introduction, key definitions, examples, resources, and a summary. Some chapters also include self-directed activities, such as worksheets or checklists. The investigators will provide a brief orientation to the workbook and include open-ended questions about the participants' need for clarification or questions of the education material. The last session will consist of an open discussion about expected problems that may arise post-discharge.