Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems associated with traumatic brain injury: A concept map of patient, family, and provider perspectives

The purpose of this study was to elicit an exhaustive list of problems associated with TBI, as characterized by the patient, significant others, and health care providers, to identify the underlying structure from the expert perspective, and to evaluate severity and frequency of the symptoms. Forty-seven participants generated a list of 174 discrete problems. These items were then sorted and rated for severity and frequency by a panel of six neuropsychologists. Concept mapping yielded a best-fit map of eight content clusters to characterize these symptoms. The clusters included independence, intimacy, treatment complications, executive functioning, nonexecutive cognitive functions, mood, and psychotic symptoms. Intimacy and treatment complications were rated as the most severe problems, with treatment complications and executive functioning rated as the most frequent. (C) 2000 Academic Press.