1. Brain drawings following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and links to illness perceptions and health outcomes – Findings from a population-based study.
- Author
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Jones, Kelly M., Kydd, Rob, Broadbent, Elizabeth, Theadom, Alice, Barker-Collo, Suzanne, Edwards, Holly, and Feigin, Valery L.
- Subjects
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BRAIN injuries , *CHI-squared test , *STATISTICAL correlation , *DRAWING , *HEALTH surveys , *LIFE skills , *LONGITUDINAL method , *MENTAL health , *PROBABILITY theory , *QUALITY of life , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH funding , *SCALE analysis (Psychology) , *SELF-evaluation , *STATISTICS , *T-test (Statistics) , *MATHEMATICAL variables , *DATA analysis , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *SEVERITY of illness index , *POSTCONCUSSION syndrome , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *GLASGOW Coma Scale , *ATTITUDES toward illness , *POPULATION-based case control , *SYMPTOMS - Abstract
Objective:Individuals’ illness perceptions predict health behaviours and influence functional outcomes. This study examined associations between a novel assessment of illness perceptions, in the form of adult’s brain drawings after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and questionnaire measures of illness perceptions, quality of life and post-concussive symptoms. Design:Population-based, prospective longitudinal study examining 245 adults with predominantly mild TBI with high risk of complications. Main outcome measures:Participants were asked to draw pictures of what they thought their brain looked like before injury and at baseline and one month post-injury. Drawing characteristics (height, width and percentage damage at one month) were examined in relation to each outcome of interest at six months. Results:Greater damage at one month was associated with more negative illness perceptions (rs = .23), poorer mental health (rs = −.21), and more total post-concussive symptoms (rs = .27 tor = .35) at six months. The extent of damage depicted reduced over time (p < .001). No associations were found between the amount of damage drawn and injury severity, nor the height or width of drawings and injury severity or illness perceptions. Conclusion:Drawings post-TBI offer a simple, cost- and time-effective way to begin discussions and improve understanding of peoples’ illness perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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