Traumatic Brain Injury
Conditions
Keywords
traumatic brain injury, volunteering, well being, cortisol
Brief summary
The purpose of this project is to determine if participating in volunteer activity improves the psychological well-being of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALHOPE - Helping Others through Purpose and Engagement
Sponsors
Craig Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Has sustained a documented TBI that required inpatient rehabilitation; * is at least one year post TBI; * is age 18 or older; * is able to commit to completing the entire three month volunteer placement; * is English or Spanish speaking; * receives written medical release from a physician to participate in this intervention; * is rated a level 1-2 on the Supervision Rating Scale (functionally independent during the day); * provides informed consent to participate
Exclusion criteria
* Is employed or engaged in regularly scheduled volunteer work outside of the intervention; * obtains a score of 25 or above on the SWLS, which is 0.5 SD above the TBIMS NDB mean; * unable to travel to assessments and placement; even with study transportation assistance; * has been convicted of a felony, which would prohibit volunteer placement; * unable to communicate effectively to complete standardized assessments; * has cognitive impairment that precludes completion of baseline testing;
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline on Satisfaction with Life Scale(SWLS)at post-intervention and follow up points. | Baseline, post-intervention, 3 mos f/u, 6 mos f/u | A five-item, self-rated scale of global life satisfaction. Items are rated on 1-7 point Likert scale. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline on Flourishing Scale at post-intervention, and at follow-up points. | Baseline, post-intervetion, 3mos f/u, 6mos f/u | An 8-item self-rated scale of perceived success in areas such as social relationships, self-esteem, and purpose in life. Items are rated on 1-7 point Likert scale. |
| Change from baseline on Brief Symptom Inventory-18(BSI-18)at post-intervention and at follow-up points. | Baseline, post-intervention, 3mos f/u, 6mos f/u | An 18-item, self-rated measure of psychological distress. Items are rated on 0-4 Likert scale. |
| Change from baseline on Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE)at post intervention and at follow-up points. | Baseline, post-intervention, 3mos f/u, 6mos f/u | A 12-item, self-rated scale that evaluates positive and negative emotions. It produces a score of positive and negative feelings that can be combined to create a balance score. |
| Change from baseline on Purpose in Life subscale of RyffScale of Psychological Well-Being at post-intervention and at follow-up points. | Baseline, post-intervention, 3mos f/u, 6mos f/u | Consists of nine, self-rated items regarding individual goals, sense of direction, and meaning. This subscale was selected because volunteering has been shown to have a positive relationship with a sense of purpose in life. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline on Hair Cortisol test at post-intervention and at follow-up points. | Baseline, post-intervention, 3mos f/u, 6 mos f/u | This is considered an Exploratory Measure. Cortisol has been explored as a potential biomarker of well-being; lower levels of salivary cortisol have been associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. Recently, reliable and valid methods for measuring long-term cortisol secretion through hair samples have been developed and are being used as biomarkers of chronic stress in multiple medical conditions. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed