Participant-proxy reliability in traumatic brain injury outcome research.
OBJECTIVE
To assess reliability between persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and their self-selected proxies.


METHODS
Intraclass Correlation Coefficients were used to assess participant-proxy reliability on the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ), and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM).


METHODS
Participants had been discharged to the community from inpatient rehabilitation between six months and approximately five years prior to the study's beginning.


METHODS
204 persons with moderate to severe TBI and their self-selected proxies.


RESULTS
Eighty-seven percent of the items on the three instruments exhibited moderate to high intraclass correlation (ICC), with strongest participant-proxy agreement for questions assessing concrete, observable information. Participant-proxy agreement was poorest when assessing cognitive and money management capacity as well as out-of-home activities.


CONCLUSIONS
For many types of items, participant-proxy reliability is sufficient to merit the use of proxies in TBI outcome research when the participants are allowed to select their own proxy.
Cusick
C P
CP
Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System, Craig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado 80110, USA.
Gerhart
K A
KA
Mellick
D C
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019727:Proxy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome