title: Prevalence and screening of traumatic brain injury among veterans seeking mental health services.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among Veterans seeking mental health services using a 4-item tool, the Traumatic Brain Injury-4 (TBI-4), and to establish the classification accuracy of the TBI-4 using the Ohio State University TBI-Identification Method as the criterion standard.
  
  
  METHODS
  Archival and observational data collected from individuals seeking care at a Mountain State VA Medical Center.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample for the archival study was 1810. Three hundred sixteen Veterans completed observational study measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the archival study, TBI-4 and demographic data extracted from electronic medical records. For the observational study, the Ohio State University TBI-Identification Method and a demographic questionnaire were used. TBI-4 data were also obtained from electronic medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of probable TBI among those seeking VA MH treatment was 45%. Sensitivity and specificity of the TBI-4 were 0.74 and 0.56, respectively. Veterans with all levels of TBI severity sought care within this VA mental health setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of TBI in this VA mental health treatment population was higher than expected. Additional research is required to assess the clinical utility of screening for TBI among this population of Veterans.
authors.affiliation: VA VISN 19 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Denver, CO 80220, USA. lisa.brenner@va.gov
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: Beeta Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Homaifar
authors.forename: Jennifer H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Olson-Madden
authors.forename: Herbert T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nagamoto
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huggins
authors.forename: Alexandra L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Jeri E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matarazzo
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Corrigan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans; D055815:Young Adult