Prevalence of TBI in an SUD Population

Study Design This study utilized a cross-sectional design that assessed patients with a history of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) admitted to a substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program at a Recovery Point in West Virginia. This design provided a point-in-time measure of TBI prevalence in this population and allowed for finding associations between TBI and substance use. Participants The participant sample that was selected included individuals who were 18 years or older and confirmed that they had been admitted to the substance use disease treatment program. Those eligible individuals were recruited through admissions; the inclusion criteria included participants to be screened for a potential history of TBI using the Ohio State University TBI identification method (OSU-TBI-ID) (Bogner et al., 2009). The only participants included in this study were individuals who screened positive for TBI and were included in the study cohort demographic information, which included age, gender, and substance use history. This information was collected as part of the mental health assessment administered by trained non-physician personnel. Data Collection Data were collected during the standard intake procedure at Recovery Point. The ASAM provided essential contextual data for each participant, which included mental health history and substance use patterns. Data Analysis The de-identified data analysis obtained from the ASAM was conducted at the University of Arkansas. The Center for Excellence in Disabilities facility allowed the research team to complete their data entry, and the pooled data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS software. Ethical Considerations The Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for the study was obtained from West Virginia University, and the study adhered to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before participating, and all data were kept confidential to protect participant privacy. This study included some limitations, which include self-reports for substance use and TBI history. Future research could benefit from longitudinal designs to further explore these relationships. Keywords: Traumatic Brain Injury, Substance Use Disorder, routines, support system, functional independence, risk factors, cognition, impulsivity, mood regulation, relationship