Comparing post-concussion symptom reporting between adults with and without a TBI history within an adult male correctional facility

Alice Theadom; Tracey Mitchell; Daniel Shepherd

doi:10.1071/IB23016

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Comparing post-concussion symptom reporting between adults with and without a TBI history within an adult male correctional facility

Alice Theadom ^A ^* , Tracey Mitchell ^A ^B and Daniel Shepherd ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A The TBI Network, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

^B Auckland South Correctional Facility (Kohuora), Serco, Auckland, New Zealand

^* Correspondence to: alice.theadom@aut.ac.nz

Brain Impairment 24(2) 333-340 https://doi.org/10.1017/BrImp.2022.20

Submitted: 14 February 2022 Accepted: 6 July 2022 Published: 17 August 2022

© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.

Abstract

Background:

A higher proportion of people in prison have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) than the general population. However, little is known about potentially related persistent symptoms in this population.

Aims:

To compare symptom reporting in men with and without a history of TBI following admission to a correctional facility.

Methods:

All men transferred to the South Auckland Correctional Facility in New Zealand complete a lifetime TBI history and the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire (RPQ) as part of their routine health screen. Data collected between June 2020 and March 2021 were extracted and anonymised. Participants were classified as reporting at least one TBI in their lifetime or no TBI history. The underlying factor structure of the RPQ was determined using principal components analysis. Symptom scores between those with and without a TBI history were compared using Mann Whitney U tests.

Results:

Of the N = 363 adult male participants, 240 (66%) reported experiencing at least one TBI in their lifetime. The RPQ was found to have a two-factor structure (Factor 1: cognitive, emotional, behavioural; Factor 2: visual-ocular) explaining 61% of the variance. Men reporting a TBI history had significantly higher cognitive, emotional and behavioural (U = 50.4, p < 0.001) and visuo-ocular symptoms (U = 68.5, p < 0.001) in comparison to men reporting no TBI history.

Conclusion:

A history of TBI was associated with higher symptom burden on admission to a correctional facility. Screening for TBI history and current symptoms on admission may assist prisoners experiencing persistent effects of TBI to access rehabilitation.

Keywords: brain injury, TBI, concussion, prison, symptoms.

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