Early Self-awareness Following Traumatic Brain Injury

OBJECTIVE: To examine the Functional Self-Assessment Scale (FSAS) in hospitalized orthopedic patients with no brain dysfunction, and compare results to prior self-awareness data collected with brain injury patients. DESIGN: Comparison of patient and staff ratings on FSAS using paired sample t tests. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one adult volunteers hospitalized on National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) orthopedic treatment unit. MEASURES: FSAS was used to compare patient and staff ratings of patient performance on tasks relevant for inpatient rehabilitation. Subjects were screened to rule out brain impairment. RESULTS: Statistically significant but very small differences were found between orthopedic patients and therapist ratings using the FSAS. However, brain injury patients' ratings show a significantly larger discrepancy between self-therapist ratings than do orthopedic patients. CONCLUSION: Impaired self-awareness is related to brain injury rather than nonspecific factors in rehabilitation inpatients.