Session Information
Session Title: AA 2022 Posters - Pediatric Rehabilitation
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Background and/or Objectives: Examine long-term service utilization and unmet needs among children and young adults with a history of a disorder of consciousness (DOC) after acquired brain injury (ABI), as obtained via telephone interview with a caregiver.
Design: Cross-sectional study
Setting: Telephone interview
Participants: Caregivers of a convenience sample of 41 children and young adults aged 5-22 years (mean 15 years) who were admitted to one of two inpatient rehabilitation units in a DOC and were ≥1 year (mean 5 years) post-ABI at time of interview
Interventions: Not applicable
Main Outcome Measures: Interview included whether or not the child/young adult had seen specific types of providers and/or used specific pieces of medical equipment in the past year. Caregivers were also asked, in an open-ended fashion if their child had any unmet needs and, if so, if the child: a) needed but did not receive any of the service; or b) needed more than received.
Results: Children and young adults had most commonly seen primary care (92%) and rehabilitation (85%) physicians within the past year. Thirty-three children (80%) used a wheelchair, 21 (51%) used a feeding tube, and 3 (7%) used a tracheostomy. Most caregivers (33/41, 80%) reported unmet service needs. Of those unmet service needs, 15/33 (45%) were in the categories of speech, occupational, and/or physical therapy services, with 13/15 (87%) reporting that these services were received but less than needed.
Conclusions: Children presenting to inpatient rehabilitation in DOC have significant long-term service needs. Most of this cohort had ongoing care by both primary care and rehabilitation physicians. Despite this, many caregivers reported unmet needs related to therapy services. These data highlight the need for ongoing work to consider therapeutic interventions for patients with severe ABI that address caregiver concerns as well as anticipated slower rate of change longer-term post-injury.
Level of Evidence: Level IV
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Jafri A, Borda A, Slomine B, Suskauer SJ. Service Utilization and Unmet Needs of Children and Young Adults with a History of Disorder of Consciousness After Brain Injury [abstract]. PM R. 2022; 14(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/service-utilization-and-unmet-needs-of-children-and-young-adults-with-a-history-of-disorder-of-consciousness-after-brain-injury/. Accessed May 17, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2022
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/service-utilization-and-unmet-needs-of-children-and-young-adults-with-a-history-of-disorder-of-consciousness-after-brain-injury/