Telerehabilitation for OIF/OEF Returnees with Combat-Related Traumatic Brain Injury

• Main Author: Siddharthan, Kris
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADJUSTMENT(PSYCHOLOGY); AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT; BRAIN; COGNITION; EMOTIONS; HEALTH; IRAQI WAR; LOCOMOTION; Medicine and Medical Research; MEMORY DEVICES; MENTAL HEALTH; Personnel Management and Labor Relations; PROBLEM SOLVING; Psychology; REHABILITATION; SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; TRAJECTORIES; TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES; VETERANS(MILITARY PERSONNEL); WOUNDS AND INJURIES

The telerehabilitation for OEF/OIF returnees with mild or moderate combat related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has as its objectives 1) care coordination for wounded veterans using distance technology via the internet and 2) monitoring of physical and mental health outcomes using a variety of instruments. To date we have enrolled 75 veterans and are actively following 48 in the study. We have collected baseline, 6, 12 and 18 month health status data on most veterans. Our findings indicate that 1) Functional capabilities measured by locomotion and mobility appear to have stabilized among our cohort of veterans while deficiencies in cognition (memory, problem solving), psychosocial adjustment (anger, emotional status) and problems in integrating into society pose challenges 2) Those with comorbid PTSD appear to display more erratic rehabilitation trajectories in cognition improvement and ultimate integration into society as compared to those without the diagnosis 3) Individualized treatment pathways are needed for rehabilitation and ultimate integration into society and 4) Veterans have expressed appreciation for the program. The original document contains color images.