Abstracts Category : Other

DEVELOPMENT AND PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY OF THE MOBILE PARTICIPATION ASSESSMENT TOOL: AN ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

by Kristin Graham`

Participation as a primary outcome of interest has gained increasing focus for disability and rehabilitation research and practice. Current means of assessing participation are limited by their static nature and reliance on an individuals accurate and unbiased recall of past events. In particular, participation is an important outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and practice, and for these individuals accurate and unbiased recall can be impacted by the functional limitations that are commonly associated with this injury. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is an assessment approach that employs the repeated measurement of an outcome of interests in the natural, real-world environment. EMA may reduce the limitations of current measures of participation as well as enhance reporting accuracy and reliability of individuals with a history of TBI. The main objectives of this dissertation were to 1) develop a preliminary measure of participation that can be delivered using EMA techniques and 2) examine the feasibility and usability of EMA in a TBI population that exhibits cognitive impairment. The first aim of this study was the preliminary development of a participation assessment that could be delivered via EMA techniques. The Mobile Participation Assessment Tool (mPAT) was developed and underwent preliminary validation by the research team in conjunction with a group of experts in the field of rehabilitation and disability sciences and individuals with a history of TBI. An accompanying scoring algorithm was also developed by the group. The second aim of examining the feasibility of using EMA techniques to assess participation in community dwelling adults with TBI and presence of cognitive impairment was completed by asking adults with TBI (n=12) to complete a four week EMA protocol to assess participation in the real-world environment in which they live.This study was funded in part through the School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences Deans Research Development Fund at the University of Pittsburgh.