A Profile of Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury Within Home Care, Long-Term Care, Complex Continuing Care, and Institutional Mental Health Settings in a Publicly Insured Population.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in home care, nursing homes, and complex continuing care settings in a national sample. METHODS: Cross-sectional study using available Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI 2.0 and RAI Home Care [HC]) national databases in Canada from 1996 to 2011. The profile of people with TBI was compared with patients with and without prespecified neurological conditions within each setting. PARTICIPANTS: Adults 18 years and older identified with TBI (n = 10 878) and adult patients with other neurological (n = 422 300) and non-neurological (n = 571 567) conditions. MAIN MEASURES: Demographic and clinical characteristics, functional characteristics, mood and behavior, and treatment and medication variables. Data from Canadian home care (RAI-HC), mental health (RAI-MH), nursing home, and complex continuing care facilities (RAI Minimum Data Set 2.0). RESULTS: Patients with TBI were significantly different on almost all items. They were among the youngest in care settings, and psychotropic drug use by this population was among the highest in at least 2 settings. CONCLUSION: These data can inform the planning for appropriate care and resources for patients with TBI in a range of settings.

Traumatic brain injury and early life experiences among men and women in a prison population.

This study examined the proportion of men and women reporting previous traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an Ontario (Canada) prison sample by demographic characteristics; adverse life experiences; and criminal, drug, and alcohol use history. Using data from The Cost of Substance Abuse in Canada study based on a random sample from four Ontario prisons, this study found 50.4% of males and 38% of females reporting previous TBI. More TBIs occurred before the first crime for women than for men. Women with TBI experienced more early physical and sexual abuse than those without TBI. Additionally, this study shows high prevalence of early life experiences among persons, particularly women, with a history of TBI. Prisoners and prison staff should be educated on TBI and best practice for rehabilitation of TBI.