Psychosocial recovery after head injury

Psychosocial recovery after head injury was prospectively examined at 1 and 12 months postinjury in a group of 102 hospitalized adult head-injured patients representing a broad range of head injury severity. For comparison purposes, 102 friend controls were used. Outcome was assessed with a battery of psychosocial measures including the Sickness Impact Profile, the Head Injury Symptom Checklist, and the Modified Function Status Index. The results indicate that head-injury patients experience significant psychosocial problems (eg, ability to return to work, resume leisure activity, concentrate and remember information, feelings of irritability) at both 1 and 12 months postinjury but these difficulties improve over time. Whereas improvements occur in both psychosocial and physical areas of functioning, improvements are greater in the physical area. The nature and extent of difficulties seen vary as a function of head injury severity, and time from injury to observation. Finally, the results suggest that not all problems reported by head-injured patients are solely related to the injury (eg, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, or headaches).