Patients' and relatives' experience of difficulties following severe traumatic brain injury: the sub-acute stage

The present study aimed to (1) identify the difficulties most frequently reported by individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) at the time of discharge from a sub-acute rehabilitation brain injury unit as well as difficulties reported by their relatives, (2) compare patients' and relatives' reports of patient difficulties, and (3) explore the role of injury severity, disability and other factors on subjective experience of difficulties. The primary measure was the European Brain Injury Questionnaire (EBIQ) administered to patients and to one of their close relatives at discharge. Results from 52 patients and 50 relatives indicate that the most frequent complaints in both groups related to somatic and cognitive problems. Relatives reported significantly more difficulties than patients on all subscales of the EBIQ. However, the level of complaints in both patients and relatives was low compared to other studies using the EBIQ. Furthermore, the effects of injury severity and general level of functioning had limited impact on the subjective experience of difficulties. Implications of these findings, specifically as they pertain to the sub-acute stage are discussed.