Delphi study for the development of a dyadic social support intervention for people with traumatic brain injury

People with traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience poor long-term health and participation outcomes, and current rehabilitation approaches fail to robustly improve these outcomes. An intervention aimed at enhancing social support may be an effective approach to promoting greater participation and improving long-term health outcomes among people with TBI.

We conducted a Delphi study involving a series of iterative consensus-building surveys to finalize a set of intervention elements likely to yield a sustainable and effective support relationship that aligned with the values of people with lived experience of brain injury and was likely to be feasible for implementation in community settings.

We enrolled participants with TBI (n = 4), their family members (n = 3), TBI rehabilitation providers (n = 4), and TBI rehabilitation researchers (n = 4), who each completed three iterative surveys.

Through this Delphi study, we selected four essential intervention elements (communication strategies, shared goals and activities, reciprocal psychosocial support, and problem-solving), and one active, but non-essential element (intermittent peer mentorship) to be included in future intervention development studies.

Despite varied perspectives on the value of peer mentorship, we were able to finalize a set of intervention elements by adjusting the focus and model of peer mentorship to fit the values and priorities of participants. Future research is needed to refine and test this approach with people with TBI and their family members to optimize acceptability and feasibility.