title: Quality of life after traumatic brain injury: Finnish experience of the QOLIBRI in residential rehabilitation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate health-related quality of life of traumatic brain injury patients who have received intensive multidisciplinary residential rehabilitation. To examine the psychometric characteristics of the Finnish Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 157 adults with TBI, up to 15 years post-injury, who had been treated in the Käpylä Rehabilitation Centre, Helsinki, Finland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Functional status was assessed using the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale. Emotional state was evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Health-related quality of life was measured using a generic measure (Short Form-36) and the QOLIBRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Quality of life was related to depression, amount of help needed, anxiety, education level and age at injury. Quality of life was not associated with time since injury, but a paradoxical relationship was found with injury severity. Internal consistency (alpha = 0.79-0.95) and test-retest reliability (rtt = 0.75-0.87) of the Finnish QOLIBRI met standard psychometric criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quality of life remained relatively stable in the long term. Milder injuries were associated with lower life satisfaction, and careful follow-up is recommended to target patients in special need. This study confirms the reliability and validity of the Finnish QOLIBRI.
authors.affiliation: Käpylä Rehabilitation Centre, Nordenskiöldinkatu 18 B, Box 103, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland. stsipo@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sini-Tuuli
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Siponkoski
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: von Steinbüchel
authors.forename: Jaana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sarajuuri
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koskinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D020127:Recovery of Function; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult