Standardized outcome assessment in brain injury rehabilitation for younger adults

To explore possible candidates for a common outcome measure for brain injury rehabilitation in younger adults.

Patients recovering from brain injury pass through several different stages of rehabilitation, illustrated by the 'Slinky model'. Outcome measures used to assess progress must not only meet scientific criteria for validity and reliability--they must be practical to use in a clinical setting and relevant to the rehabilitation goals at each stage. Within most major rehabilitation settings, the commonest goals focus on reducing disability or dependency. Among the most widely used measures in the UK are the Barthel Index, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the extended Functional Assessment Measure (FIM + FAM). The relationship between these instruments is discussed.

No single outcome measure is suitable for all brain injury rehabilitation, but by taking these most widely used measures and understanding the relationship between them, we already have a potential common language in disability measurement between the majority of rehabilitation centres in the UK and beyond. These instruments, however, have clear floor and ceiling effects and further work is needed to agree common measures for rehabilitation intervention that falls outside the sensitivity range of these three scales.