Original Research
Disability and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury

Presented to the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, October 21-24, 2020, virtual.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2021.01.064Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

To identify the consequences of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), with particular attention to unique effects for individuals with chronic disability.

Design

Individuals with and without a history of TBI completed a web-based survey.

Setting

Participants were recruited from the Vanderbilt Brain Injury Patient Registry in Nashville, TN, and completed the survey from their homes between May and June 2020, during social distancing related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants

Participants (N=47) in the chronic phase of moderate-severe TBI (>6mo postinjury) and 51 noninjured comparison (NC) peers completed the survey.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Participants, or respondents, answered a mix of multiple choice and free text questions about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their work, education, medical care, social communication, sources of information and decision making, and mental and physical well-being. Individuals with TBI also answered questions about how TBI has affected their experiences of the pandemic.

Results

As a group, respondents with TBI reported less pandemic-related behavior change (eg, daily habits, virtual social visits, and masking) than NC peers. Both NCs and respondents with TBI identified health care providers as trusted sources of public health information. One-third of individuals with TBI indicated that brain injury has made coping with the pandemic more difficult, and respondents identified mental health challenges and social isolation as key barriers.

Conclusions

These results suggest that health care providers should look for ways to provide tailored education and reduce social isolation for individuals with disability during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss several direct suggestions from participant responses.

Keywords

Brain injuries, traumatic
COVID-19
Rehabilitation

List of abbreviations

COVID-19
coronavirus disease 2019
NC
noninjured comparison
TBI
traumatic brain injury

Cited by (0)

Supported by National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant no. R01 110661 to M.C.D.).

Disclosures: none.

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