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Online family training after traumatic brain injury: A parallel randomized control trial
Christina M Karns1, Laurie Powell1, Karen A Durany2
1Center on Brain Injury Research and Training, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon.
Objective:
To evaluate an online intervention to support family members of individuals who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Research Design:
Randomized control trial. Parallel assignment to TBI Family Support (TBIFS) intervention or enhanced usual care control (TAU). Three testing timepoints: pretest baseline (T1), posttest within 2 weeks of assignment (T2), and follow-up 1 month after posttest (T3).
Setting:
Online.
Participants:
Sixty-eight caregivers recruited nationally: 18 years of age or older, English speaking, providing primary caregiving to an adult family member with TBI and mild to moderate disability.
Intervention:
Eight interactive modules providing information about cognitive, behavioral, and social consequences of TBI, training in problem-solving framework, and application exercises (N = 35). TAU was an informational website (N = 33).
Measures:
Proximal outcomes-program use, usability, and user satisfaction for TBIFS participants. Primary outcomes-TBI content knowledge, strategy application objective response and open-ended response, and strategy-application confidence. Secondary outcomes-appraisals of burden, satisfaction, uncertainty in mastery, guilt, and negative environment.
Results:
Proximal outcomes-about 80% of TBIFS participants completed the posttest assessment, and 91% reported moderate to high usability and user satisfaction. Primary outcomes-greater posttest gains in TBI content knowledge for TBIFS than TAU (t = 3.53, p = .0005, adjusted p = .0090, d = 0.91). Gains maintained through follow-up (t = 2.89, p = .0038, adjusted p = .0342, d = 0.90). No other effects for the primary or secondary outcomes.
Conclusion:
TBIFS improved TBI content knowledge relative to TAU. Modifications might be needed to improve application and distal outcomes for caregivers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
