Feasibility and Acceptability of Telephone-Administered Traumatic Brain Injury Common Data Elements and the Rehabilitation Needs Survey in Community-Dwelling Adults Exposed to the United States Criminal Legal System.

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common among legally-impacted adults and has also been linked to negative outcomes throughout the criminal legal system. Despite this, relatively limited TBI research has focused on or even included legally-impacted adults. Existing literature in this population has used heterogeneous TBI definitions, populations, and measures when studying outcomes. This study therefore investigates the feasibility and acceptability of telephone-administered TBI common data elements (CDEs) and the Rehabilitation Needs Survey (RNS) in 85 legally-impacted community-dwelling adults. Regarding feasibility, completion rates across measures were high (88-100%), and noncompletion was most commonly due to participants declining to continue. Regarding acceptability, data collectors were able to administer and code most measures with relative ease. Reported difficulties related to measures requiring detailed data collector training to administer and code, such as the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ) and Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone, or challenges inherent to self-report tests in general. In addition, data collectors recommended adding specific questions to the BISQ to query head injuries experienced during or as a result of their exposure to the criminal legal system. Overall, results support the use of telephone-administered TBI CDEs and the RNS in legally-impacted adults, and underscore the need for culturally-responsive training and technical assistance for TBI researchers engaging with this population.