OBJECTIVE: To design and describe an effective rehabilitation programme for use in an ongoing trial on the efficacy of multidisciplinary brain injury rehabilitation for moderately head injury military service members. DESIGN: Treatment arm of a randomized control trial. SETTING: US military tertiary care hospital inpatient rehabilitation programme. PATIENTS: Sixty seven active duty military with moderate to severe TBI who were randomized to the treatment arm of the protocol. INTERVENTION: Eight week rehabilitation programme combining group and individual therapies with an inpatient milieu-oriented neuropsychological focus. Group therapies included fitness, planning and organization, cognitive skills, work skills, medication, and milieu groups, and community re-entry outings. Individual therapy included neuropsychology, work therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Successful return to work and return to duty. RESULTS: At 1 year follow-up, 64 patients returned to work (96%) and 66% (44/67) returned to duty. CONCLUSION: The described rehabilitation programme demonstrates one successful effort to rehabilitate active duty military service members with TBI who have the potential to return to duty.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To design and describe an effective rehabilitation programme for use in an ongoing trial on the efficacy of multidisciplinary brain injury rehabilitation for moderately head injury military service members. DESIGN: Treatment arm of a randomized control trial. SETTING: US military tertiary care hospital inpatient rehabilitation programme. PATIENTS: Sixty seven active duty military with moderate to severe TBI who were randomized to the treatment arm of the protocol. INTERVENTION: Eight week rehabilitation programme combining group and individual therapies with an inpatient milieu-oriented neuropsychological focus. Group therapies included fitness, planning and organization, cognitive skills, work skills, medication, and milieu groups, and community re-entry outings. Individual therapy included neuropsychology, work therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Successful return to work and return to duty. RESULTS: At 1 year follow-up, 64 patients returned to work (96%) and 66% (44/67) returned to duty. CONCLUSION: The described rehabilitation programme demonstrates one successful effort to rehabilitate active duty military service members with TBI who have the potential to return to duty.