Impact of traumatic brain injury on participation in leisure activities.
OBJECTIVE
To determine how participation in leisure activities for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) changes from before injury to 1 year after injury.


METHODS
Prospective evaluation of leisure participation at 1 year after TBI.


METHODS
Level I trauma center.


METHODS
Rehabilitation inpatients (mean age, 35.3 years; 77% male; 77% white) with moderate to severe TBI (N=160).


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Functional Status Examination.


RESULTS
At 1 year after injury, 81% had not returned to preinjury levels of leisure participation. Activities most frequently discontinued included partying, drug and alcohol use, and various sports. The activity most often reported as new after injury was watching television. Of the small fraction who returned to preinjury levels, 70% did so within 4 months of injury. Sixty percent of those who did not return to preinjury levels were moderately to severely bothered by the changes.


CONCLUSIONS
At 1 year after injury, many TBI survivors engage in a reduced number of leisure activities, which are more sedentary and less social, with a substantial fraction dissatisfied with these changes. While discontinuing some activities may be viewed as a positive change, there are few new ones to replace them.
Wise
Elizabeth K
EK
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA. bwise@u.washington.edu
Mathews-Dalton
Christine
C
Dikmen
Sureyya
S
Temkin
Nancy
N
Machamer
Joan
J
Bell
Kathleen
K
Powell
Janet M
JM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011998:Recreation; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014861:Washington