Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

An evaluation of the Veterans Affairs traumatic brain injury screening process among Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans.

Evans CT, St Andre JR, Pape TL, Steiner ML, Stroupe KT, Hogan TP, Weaver FM, Smith BM. An evaluation of the Veterans Affairs traumatic brain injury screening process among Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation. 2013 Mar 1; 5(3):210-20; quiz 220.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To describe the early results of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) screening program for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to identify patient and facility characteristics associated with receiving a TBI screen and results of the screening. DESIGN: National retrospective cohort study. SETTING: VA Medical facilities. PATIENTS: A total of 170,681 Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans who sought care at VA medical facilities from April 2007 to September 30, 2008. METHODS: Data were abstracted from VA administrative and operational databases, including patient demographics, facility characteristics, and outcomes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The main outcomes were receipt of and results of the TBI screen. RESULTS: The majority of veterans eligible received the TBI screen (91.6%). Screening rates varied by patient and facility characteristics. In all, 25% of screened veterans had probable TBI exposure, in which the majority of the exposures were blasts (85.0%). The rate of a positive TBI screen was 20.5% for the screened cohort. Male gender, service in the army, multiple deployments, and mental health diagnoses in the previous year were associated with a positive screen. CONCLUSIONS: TBI screening rates are high in VA; concomitant mental health diagnoses were highly prevalent in individuals with positive TBI screens. These data indicate that there will be a significant need for long-term health care services for veterans with TBI symptomatology.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.