Quality of life after traumatic brain injury: the clinical use of the QOLIBRI, a novel disease-specific instrument.
OBJECTIVE
To report the clinical use of the QOLIBRI, a disease-specific measure of health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) after traumatic brain injury (TBI).


METHODS
The QOLIBRI, with 37 items in six scales (cognition, self, daily life and autonomy, social relationships, emotions and physical problems) was completed by 795 patients in six languages (Finnish, German, Italian, French, English and Dutch). QOLIBRI scores were examined by variables likely to be influenced by rehabilitation interventions and included socio-demographic, functional outcome, health status and mental health variables.


RESULTS
The QOLIBRI was self-completed by 73% of participants and 27% completed it in interview. It was sensitive to areas of life amenable to intervention, such as accommodation, work participation, health status (including mental health) and functional outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
The QOLIBRI provides information about patient's subjective perception of his/her HRQoL which supplements clinical measures and measures of functional outcome. It can be applied across different populations and cultures. It allows the identification of personal needs, the prioritization of therapeutic goals and the evaluation of individual progress. It may also be useful in clinical trials and in longitudinal studies of TBI recovery.
Truelle
Jean-Luc
JL
The QOLIBRI Task Force on TBI Quality of Life, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Hospital, Garches, France. jean-luc.truelle@wanadoo.fr
Koskinen
Sanna
S
Hawthorne
Graeme
G
Sarajuuri
Jaana
J
Formisano
Rita
R
Von Wild
Klaus
K
Neugebauer
Edmund
E
Wilson
Lindsay
L
Gibbons
Henning
H
Powell
Jane
J
Bullinger
Monika
M
Höfer
Stefan
S
Maas
Andrew
A
Zitnay
George
G
Von Steinbuechel
Nicole
N
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult