Achievement of self-identified goals by adults with traumatic brain injury: Phase I

Objective. This study sought to determine whether persons with traumatic brain injury who received outpatient occupational therapy services achieved self-identified goals related to tasks of daily life. Method. Sixteen participants completed the study Occupational therapists used their usual treatment procedures to restore independence in home and community occupational functioning. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure identified the five most important problems that interfered with independence in the roles the participant valued as well as the participant's perception of performance ability and satisfaction with performance. Coal Attainment Scaling documented achievement of the five self-identified goals. The independent Living Skills Evaluation (ILSE) and the Reintegration to Normal Living Scale (RNL) measured changes in overall instrumental activities of daily living and community reintegration. Results. The participants significantly achieved (p <.001) their goals from admission to discharge, rated themselves as performing significantly better (p <.001), and were significantly more satisfied (P =.001) with performance after treatment than before. Additionally they improved significantly on the ILSE (p <. 001) and the RNL (p <.001) from admission to discharge. There were no significant changes in perfoemance from discharge to follow-up on any of the scales. Conclusion. Although causality cannot be inferred, it can be concluded that participants attending outpatient occupational therapy significantly improved, and improvements were sustained after discharge, but no further improvement occurred spontaneously.