Mild traumatic brain injury in New Zealand: Post-concussion symptoms and recovery

RESEARCH QUESTION What impact does the amount of time between injury and assessment date, along with the post-concussion symptoms reported at assessment, have on the length of stay in a concussion service? ABSTRACT Traumatic brain injury is predicted to become the third largest cause of disease burden globally by 2020. Of these, it is estimated that between 70-90 percent will be categorised as mild which is also known as concussion. The current study looks to determine what impact a delay in time between injury and assessment date, along with the post-concussion symptoms reported at assessment, has on the length of stay in a concussion service within New Zealand. A retrospective, descriptive, quantitative methodology that reviewed medical records was employed to determine whether statistically significant associations existed between the variables for 107 clients. Results showed no significant correlations for the cognitive and physical clusters but did show that a delay in time between injury and assessment was significantly correlated with higher psychological symptoms being reported along with a longer stay in service. These findings highlight the importance of early diagnosis and intervention for mTBI, with education programs, awareness and symptom management possibly being the solution to lessen the impact of mTBI.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Health Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Eastern Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Henry, Janis

• New Zealand
• concussion clients
• concussion services
• mild traumatic brain injury
• mTBI
• post-concussion syndrome
• symptoms
• time delay
• assessment
• referrals
• diagnosis
• Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6341

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6341