Examining Interrelationships Between Implementation Outcomes in the Context of Traumatic Brain Injury Screening in...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is prevalent in individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs).
• Evidence-based TBI screening is underutilized in behavioral healthcare settings.
• Understanding provider perceptions is crucial for improving TBI screening implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate provider perceptions of TBI screening acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness.
• Examine if these perceptions moderate the link between screening intentions and behaviors.
• Inform more precise dissemination and implementation (D&I) strategies for TBI screening.

Main Methods:

• Explanatory sequential mixed methods study with 215 providers in Phase 1 (surveys) and 20 in Phase 2 (interviews).
• Assessed intentions to screen for TBI using the Ohio State University TBI Identification Method (OSU TBI-ID).
• Analyzed perceptions of acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness, and their moderating effect on screening behavior.

Main Results:

• Providers reported high mean scores for acceptability (4.12), feasibility (4.02), and appropriateness (3.69) of TBI screening.
• Acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness did not significantly moderate the relationship between screening intentions and behaviors.
• Providers found the OSU TBI-ID easy to use, relevant, and helpful for referrals and treatment decisions.

Conclusions:

• Positive intervention perceptions alone are insufficient to drive behavior change from intention to action.
• This study clarifies early-stage implementation outcome interrelationships.
• Findings can guide the development of more efficient and effective D&I strategies for TBI screening in SUD treatment settings.