Study Description and Background

Military personnel are returning from current conflicts with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brief and sensitive screening measures are needed to assess TBI in this population.

The Traumatic Brain Injury-4 (TBI-4) is a four-item screening tool that is included in the Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS) Mental Health Clinic (MHC) intake form. The four questions are as follows:

1. Have you ever been hospitalized or treated in an emergency room following a head or neck injury?
2. Have you ever been knocked out or unconscious following an accident or injury?
3. Have you ever injured your head or neck in a car accident or from some other moving vehicle accident?
4. Have you ever injured your head or neck in a fight or a fall?

Individuals who have received screenings at intake in the MHC will be invited to participate in a research study. The study will compare results from the intake screen to the Ohio State University TBI-Identification Method (OSU TBI-ID), which is considered the gold standard for establishing a TBI diagnosis.

The study has been approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board (COMIRB) and ECHCS VA Office of Research and Development. The COMIRB protocol number is 08-0001. Funding for this study is provided by the Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund. Additional support is provided by the VISN 19 MIRECC.