Factors that lead to successful community integration following severe traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE: To assess and identify predictive factors of community integration of people 3 to 15 years after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). PARTICIPANTS: Forty participants with severe TBI (an average of 8.8 years postinjury). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Community Integration Questionnaire, the Community Integration Measure, and the Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale. Data related to factors that may predict community integration were also collected. RESULTS: There was considerable variation in the level of community integration. Discriminant function analyses identified the following factors as predictive of the level of community integration: severity of injury, age at the time of injury, level of disability, and challenging behavior. CONCLUSION: Interventions that minimize challenging behavior and disability may make a significant difference to the level of community integration experienced by people with severe TBI.