Source
Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. pickelse@musc.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To describe the design and operations of the South Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Follow-up Registry.
DESIGN:
Statewide prospective cohort study.
SETTING:
State of South Carolina.
PARTICIPANTS:
2118 persons discharged from acute care hospitals after experiencing TBI.
INTERVENTION:
Telephone interviews.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Service needs, alcohol and drug use, psychosocial health, health-related quality of life, functional status, symptoms of TBI, employment, global life satisfaction, and death.
RESULTS:
Selected initial and 1-year follow-up findings concerning demographic, insurance status, income, and employment factors.
CONCLUSIONS:
Population-based outcome studies that describe longer term problems associated with TBI, the need for services, and estimated disability could be useful to inform public policy.