Comparison of nursing home residents with and without traumatic brain injury: use of the Minimum Data Set

To describe the magnitude of the population with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Colorado living in nursing homes and compare these residents to the nursing home residents with neither TBI nor dementia.

The standardized Minimum Data Set of resident assessments was used to describe the behavior, cognitive performance, activities of daily living, and discharge potential of residents.

There were 16,478 nursing home residents in 2005, of whom 1.4% had TBI but not dementia, 0.7% had both TBI and dementia, and 50.2% had neither diagnosis. The prevalence of TBI in this population was 2.1%. TBI residents without dementia were younger (median age 53 years). A larger proportion consisted of men (64%), from a racial/ethnic minority (24%), and needed greater assistance with eating, toileting, and hygiene. The percent with severe cognitive impairment was greater for individuals with TBI (22%) compared to those with neither TBI nor dementia (5%). Fewer TBI residents expressed a preference to return to the community.

These differences suggest the need for increased training and staffing to care for nursing home residents with TBI.