Affiliations: [a]
Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, Kessler Foundation, East Hanover, NJ, USA
| [b] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| [c]
BioCruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute. Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain
| [d] IKERBASQUE. Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| [e] Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Anthony H. Lequerica, Ph.D. 120 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 100 East Hanover, NJ 07936, USA. Tel.: +1(973) 324 8454; E-mail: alequerica@kesslerfoundation.org.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:With structured interviews being an established method for assessing one’s exposure to traumatic brain injury across their lifetime, effective assessment tools are needed to serve the large population of Spanish speakers in the U.S. and abroad. OBJECTIVE:To obtain preliminary evidence of validity for a Spanish version of a web-based, structured interview designed to assess lifetime exposure to TBI. METHODS:A sample of 720 Spanish-speaking individuals between the ages of 18 through 65 from the continental U.S. (34.3%), South America (30.8%), the Caribbean (12.6%), Spain (12.4%), and Mexico and Central America (9.9%) completed an online survey containing the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method (Self-Administered-Brief; OSU TBI-ID SAB), Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory, and PROMIS Cognitive Concerns Scale. RESULTS:Indices of severity of worst TBI, time since most recent TBI, and multiple injuries demonstrated expected relationships with neurobehavioral symptoms such that greater symptom reporting was observed among those who had more severe injuries, more recent injuries, and multiple injuries over a period of time. CONCLUSIONS:Findings provide preliminary evidence of validity for three of the indices derived from OSU TBI-ID SAB among Spanish-speaking individuals. Further study is needed to assess other aspects of this instrument to pave the way for further epidemiological studies involving lifetime exposure to TBI among Spanish-speaking individuals across the U.S., Spain, and Latin America.
