TY - JOUR
T1 - Unraveling the biopsychosocial factors of fatigue and sleep problems after traumatic brain injury
T2 - Protocol for a multicenter longitudinal cohort study
AU - Bruijel, Jessica
AU - Stapert, Sven Z.
AU - Vermeeren, Annemiek
AU - Ponsford, Jennie L.
AU - van Heugten, Caroline M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Jessica Bruijel, Sven Z Stapert, Annemiek Vermeeren, Jennie L Ponsford, Caroline M van Heugten. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 22.10.2018. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Research Protocols, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.researchprotocols.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - Background: Fatigue and sleep problems are common after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are experienced as highly distressing symptoms, playing a significant role in the recovery trajectory, and they can drastically impact the quality of life and societal participation of the patient and their family and friends. However, the etiology and development of these symptoms are still uncertain. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the development of fatigue and sleep problems following moderate to severe TBI and to explore the changes in underlying biological (pain, brain damage), psychological (emotional state), and social (support family, participation) factors across time. Methods: This study is a longitudinal multicenter observational cohort study with 4 measurement points (3, 6, 12, and 18 months postinjury) including subjective questionnaires and cognitive tasks, preceded by 7 nights of actigraphy combined with a sleep diary. Recruitment of 137 moderate to severe TBI patients presenting at emergency and neurology departments or rehabilitation centers across the Netherlands is anticipated. The evolution of fatigue and sleep problems following TBI and their association with possible underlying biological (pain, brain damage), psychological (emotional state), and social (support family, participation) factors will be examined. Results: Recruitment of participants for this longitudinal cohort study started in October 2017, and the enrollment of participants is ongoing. The first results are expected at the end of 2020. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the development of both post-TBI fatigue and sleep longitudinally within a biopsychosocial model in moderate to severe TBI using both subjective and objective measures. Identification of modifiable factors such as mood and psychosocial stressors may give direction to the development of interventions for fatigue and sleep problems post-TBI.
AB - Background: Fatigue and sleep problems are common after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are experienced as highly distressing symptoms, playing a significant role in the recovery trajectory, and they can drastically impact the quality of life and societal participation of the patient and their family and friends. However, the etiology and development of these symptoms are still uncertain. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the development of fatigue and sleep problems following moderate to severe TBI and to explore the changes in underlying biological (pain, brain damage), psychological (emotional state), and social (support family, participation) factors across time. Methods: This study is a longitudinal multicenter observational cohort study with 4 measurement points (3, 6, 12, and 18 months postinjury) including subjective questionnaires and cognitive tasks, preceded by 7 nights of actigraphy combined with a sleep diary. Recruitment of 137 moderate to severe TBI patients presenting at emergency and neurology departments or rehabilitation centers across the Netherlands is anticipated. The evolution of fatigue and sleep problems following TBI and their association with possible underlying biological (pain, brain damage), psychological (emotional state), and social (support family, participation) factors will be examined. Results: Recruitment of participants for this longitudinal cohort study started in October 2017, and the enrollment of participants is ongoing. The first results are expected at the end of 2020. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the development of both post-TBI fatigue and sleep longitudinally within a biopsychosocial model in moderate to severe TBI using both subjective and objective measures. Identification of modifiable factors such as mood and psychosocial stressors may give direction to the development of interventions for fatigue and sleep problems post-TBI.
KW - Biopsychosocial model
KW - Fatigue
KW - Sleep
KW - Traumatic brain injury
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098868391&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/11295
DO - 10.2196/11295
M3 - Article
C2 - 30348629
AN - SCOPUS:85098868391
SN - 1929-0748
VL - 7
JO - JMIR Research Protocols
JF - JMIR Research Protocols
IS - 10
M1 - e11295
ER -