Ideas erróneas sobre daño cerebral adquirido en población de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Introduction

Various studies have demonstrated the existence of misconceptions about acquired brain injury (ABI) and its consequences in different populations.

Objective

To describe the presence of ABI misconceptions in the general population (GP), healthcare workers (HCW), and patient family members (FM) of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, through the application of a self-administered questionnaire.

Subjects and methods

The sample includes 333 participants. Three sub-samples are distinguished: 151 cases for GP, 89 for HCW, and 93 for FM. The ABI questionnaire translated into Spanish by Navarro-Main et al. was utilized, to which five items related to cognitive and emotional sequelae were added, resulting in a questionnaire comprising 24 statements (DCA-24).

Results

Statements with a high error rate for the GP group were 2, 5, 6, 8, and 15. For the HCW group: 2 and 15. Finally, for the FM group: statements 2, 5, and 15. Significant differences were observed between the sub-samples for the total correct responses (p < .001). Post hoc analysis evidenced a better overall positioning of HCW compared to GP and FM, with no differences between the latter (p < .001).

Conclusions

HCW demonstrated greater knowledge about acquired brain injury than GP and FM. In our context, being FM does not seem to increase awareness about this issue. Using the ABI-24, we found misconceptions related to cognitive impairments and amnesia, recovery, and physical and behavioral manifestations of acquired brain injury across the entire population.