Abstract
Objective
To provide reliability and validity data to support the clinical utility of Economic
Quality of Life Measure (Econ-QOL) scores in caregivers of civilians and service members/veterans
with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Design
Cross-sectional survey study.
Setting
Three academic medical centers and a Veterans Affairs treatment facility.
Participants
376 caregivers of civilians (n=213) and service members/veterans (n=163) with TBI
(N=376).
Interventions
N/A.
Main Outcome Measures
Econ-QOL and several patient-reported outcome measures (Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiver
Quality of Life Caregiver-Specific Anxiety and Caregiver Strain, Patient-Reported
Outcomes Measurement Information System sleep-related impairment, Neurological Quality
of Life Measurement System positive affect and well-being) and measures of financial
status (self-reported income).
Results
Internal consistency reliability of the Econ-QOL Short Form scores were excellent
(all Cronbach's alphas ≥.92). There were no floor or ceiling effects for scores. There
was evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, with the Econ-QOL scores having
the strongest relationships with self-reported income (convergent validity evidence)
and weak relationships with the other measures (discriminant validity evidence). Individuals
with scores that were “below or possibly below” the poverty line (according to 2016
federal government poverty level thresholds) reported worse economic quality of life
relative to those individuals who were definitely above the poverty line, supporting
known-groups validity.
Conclusions
This article establishes the clinical utility of scores on the Econ-QOL Short Form
in caregivers of persons with TBI and provides evidence that it is valid and appropriate
to use such scores not only in a variety of different disability populations (eg,
spinal cord injury, stroke) but also in caregivers.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
Econ-QOL (Economic Quality of Life Measure), HRQOL (health-related quality of life), PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System), SMV (service member/veteran), TBI (traumatic brain injury), TBI-CareQOL (Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiver Quality of Life)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 06, 2022
Accepted:
July 28,
2022
Received in revised form:
July 21,
2022
Received:
February 28,
2022
Footnotes
Work on this article was supported by grant number R01NR013658 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Nursing Research, as well as contract funding from the General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc, subcontractor for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC; DVBIC-SC-14-003; W91YTZ-13-C-0015). Funding from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR000433) provided support for data collection. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
TBI-CareQOL Site Investigators and Coordinators: Noelle Carlozzi, Anna Kratz, Amy Austin, Jenna Russell, Jenna Freedman, Jennifer Miner (University of Michigan, Ann, Arbor, MI); Angelle Sander (Baylor College of Medicine and TIRR Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX); Curtisa Light (TIRR Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX); Robin Hanks, Daniela Ristova-Trendov (Wayne State University/Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Detroit, MI); Tracey Brickell, Rael Lange, Louis French, Sara Lippa, Rachel Gartner, Megan Wright, Angela Driscoll, Diana Nora, Jamie Sullivan, Nicole Varbedian, Lauren Johnson, Heidi Mahatan, Paula Bellini, Jayne Holzinger, Jennifer Freud, Ashley Schaper, Maryetta Reese, Elizabeth Barnhart, Vanessa Ndege, Yasmine Eshera, Jenna Weintraub, Mary Andrews, Kaitlyn Casey, Gabrielle Robinson (Walter Reed National Military Medical Center/Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Bethesda, MD); Jill Massengale, Risa Richardson, Leah Drasher-Phillips, Kristina Martinez, Padmaja Ramaiah (James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
