title: Reliability of the relative's questionnaire for assessment of outcome after brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The relative's questionnaire (RQ) was developed to assess outcome after brain injury. The present study investigated its test-retest reliability when used in a postal survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital records were used to identify and contact 288 surviving patients treated for brain injury five to seven years earlier. Patients were sent a copy of the RQ (RQ1) and one month later a second copy (RQ2) was sent to those who returned RQ1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and eleven patients were successfully contacted, of whom 128 (61%) returned RQ1, and 94 of these (73%) returned RQ2. The reliability of items was variable, with most having a kappa value of > 0.6 suggesting 'substantial agreement' or better.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data presented suggest that the RQ is a reliable instrument in collecting outcome information in brain-injured patients by postal survey. Further research is recommended to test the suitability of the RQ for the use as a telephone interview.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hellawell
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Signorini
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pentland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires