Abstract:
The ability to work is important to many persons with TBI for maximizing financial independence, achieving social re-integration and maintaining quality of life. Vocational re-entry is frequently addressed in post-acute rehabilitation of TBI, but employment remains a goal that is difficult to attain. We need ways of evaluating what the most critical elements of the treatment are, or at what intensity or duration they must be delivered. The objectives of Phase 1 are: (1) to develop definitions for content and process parameters for characterizing specific vocational interventions for TBI; (2) to use these definitions to survey the types and variations in vocational services across the TBIMS; (3) to develop testable hypotheses about relative efficacy of interventions based on observed variations. Survey/ interview methodology will be used to obtain detailed vocational services data from each of the 16 existing TBIMS cenmters in preparation for developing either naturalistic or experimental studies of treatment efficacy.