Abstract
Objective: To explore adolescent and parent perceptions of the impact of a concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on family functioning and activity levels in the first 4 weeks of recovery.
Setting: Outpatient research setting.
Participants: Twenty-seven adolescents (aged of 13-17 years) within 1 week of a concussion/mTBI and a parent/guardian were enrolled in the study.
Design: Prospective ecological study with qualitative, semistructured interviews.
Main Measures: Adolescents reported symptoms electronically every 2 days for 28 days via the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory. Semistructured interviews were completed with each adolescent-parent dyad at the end of the 28-day period. Interview questions focused on perceptions of recovery progress and study procedures.
Results: Symptom trajectories were variable across participants. Three main themes emerged from thematic analysis, including: (1) disruption of routines and activities, (2) injury management considerations, and (3) positive and negative influential factors (eg, school and coach support, timing of injury, and recovery expectations). Results highlighted nuances of recovery challenges that families specifically face and help emphasize the potential benefits of shared decision-making and where more guidance would be appreciated such as more specific self-management of symptoms and physical activity reintegration strategies.
Conclusions: Study findings support a shared decision-making approach with the identified themes as potential topics to help consider social and environmental influences on recovery. The themes presented in the results could be topics emphasized during intake and follow-up visit processes to help guide plans of care and return-to-activity decisions.