Abstract:
The objective of this project was to determine the role of agitation in the prediction of TBI rehabilitation outcomes. Multivariate analyses indicated that cognitive functioning at admission to rehabilitation (FIM Cognitive) mediates the relationship between the presence of agitation and length of rehabilitation, as well as between agitation and FIM Cognitive at discharge. Similar results were found when discharge residence was the dependent variable, however agitation also contributed some unique variance to the prediction. The results of the multivariate analyses support the contention that agitation and cognition are intimately related, with the long-term effects of the former being at least partially driven by the latter. These findings support the importance of systematically monitoring both agitation and cognition when applying interventions to reduce agitation