Chronicity of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comparison of Special Operators and Conventional Forces.

Background: Special Operations Forces (SOF) have become the solution to many of the United States military challenges due to their ability to conduct time sensitive, clandestine, and high-risk missions. Historically, SOF were assumed to be resilient to the psychological sequelae of war, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the objective burden of PTSD in SOF, particularly after traumatic brain injury (TBI), remains unknown.

Provider Identified Access Barriers to Delivering Acupuncture to Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury and Chronic Pain: A Cross-Sectional Self-Report Survey.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinical practice guidelines for pain management and rehabilitation support the use of nonpharmacologic complementary and integrative health (CIH) modalities, such as acupuncture for remediating pain. Barriers to delivering CIH modalities, such as acupuncture warrant examination. The objective of this study is to explore provider perspectives on challenges to accessing acupuncture treatment for chronic pain in persons with TBI and describe differences across health care settings.

Predictors of Psychiatric Hospitalization After Discharge From Inpatient Neurorehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To examine, among persons discharged from inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI), the degree to which pre-TBI factors were associated with post-TBI hospitalization for psychiatric reasons. The authors hypothesized that pre-TBI psychiatric hospitalization and other pre-TBI mental health treatment would predict post-TBI psychiatric hospitalization following rehabilitation discharge, up to 5 years post-TBI.

Setting: Five Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers.

Efficacy and Implementation Planning Across the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma System of Care: Protocol for the REACH Intervention for Caregivers of Veterans and Service Members With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: The responsibility of care for Veterans and Service Members (V/SMs) with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often defaults to informal family caregivers. Caregiving demands considerable knowledge, skill, and support to facilitate the health and well-being of V/SMs and themselves. Persistent and common TBI caregiver issues include strain, depression, and anxiety.

A Partner-Engaged Approach to Developing an Implementation Research Logic Model for a Traumatic Brain Injury-Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program.

Background: A partnered evaluation project with Veterans Health Administration Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program office uses a partner-engaged approach to characterize and evaluate the national implementation of traumatic brain injury (TBI)Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program (IETP).

Objective: This paper illustrates a partner-engaged approach to contextualizing the IETP within an implementation research logic model (IRLM) to inform program sustainment and spread.

Setting: The project was conducted at five IETP sites: Tampa, Richmond, San Antonio, Palo Alto, and Minneapolis.

Decisional Needs of Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Initiating Treatment for Insomnia Disorder and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Objective: We sought to elicit key informant (KI) perspectives regarding decisional needs of Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) who are initiating insomnia disorder and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Polytrauma/TBI System of Care (PSC). Specifically, we sought to understand: (1) information regarding treatment options that Veterans with mTBI require in order to make an informed decision; and (2) values used to guide decision-making (ie, personally meaningful aspects of the decision used to compare treatment options).

Setting: Nationwide VHA PSC sites.

Mortality Among Veterans Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Veterans Administration Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Study.

Few studies have examined long-term mortality following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a military population. This is a secondary analysis of a prospective, longitudinal study that examines long-term mortality (up to 10 years) post-TBI, including analyses of life expectancy, causes of death, and risk factors for death in service members and veterans (SM/V) who survived the acute TBI and inpatient rehabilitation. Among 922 participants in the study, the mortality rate was 8.

Applying the PTSD Checklist-Civilian and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 crosswalk in a traumatic brain injury sample: A veterans affairs traumatic brain injury model systems study.

This study evaluates the use of the crosswalk between the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C) and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) designed by Moshier et al. (2019) in a sample of service members and veterans (SM/V; N = 298) who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and were receiving inpatient rehabilitation. The PCL-C and PCL-5 were completed at the same time.

Cost-Effectiveness of Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment in Hospitalized Persons With Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness of alternative approaches to diagnose and treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during inpatient rehabilitation.

Setting: Data collected during the Comparison of Sleep Apnea Assessment Strategies to Maximize TBI Rehabilitation Participation and Outcome (C-SAS) clinical trial (NCT03033901) on an inpatient rehabilitation TBI cohort were used in this study.

Study Design: Decision tree analysis was used to determine the cost-effectiveness of approaches to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea.

A Deep Transfer Learning Approach for Sleep Stage Classification and Sleep Apnea Detection Using Wrist-Worn Consumer Sleep Technologies.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common, underdiagnosed sleep-related breathing disorder with serious health implications Objective - We propose a deep transfer learning approach for sleep stage classification and sleep apnea (SA) detection using wrist-worn consumer sleep technologies (CST). Methods - Our model is based on a deep convolutional neural network (DNN) utilizing accelerometers and photo-plethysmography signals from nocturnal recordings. The DNN was trained and tested on internal datasets that include raw data from clinical and wrist-worn devices; external validation was performed on a hold-out test dataset containing raw data from a wrist-worn CST.

Factors Influencing Adherence to Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatments among Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To understand factors influencing adherence to recommended treatment for insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Method: Semi-structured interviews ( = 49) with 29 clinical stakeholders and 20 Veterans were conducted. Clinical stakeholders included Veterans Health Administration providers and policymakers involved in the management of mTBI and/or sleep disorders.

Long Noncoding RNA VLDLR-AS1 Levels in Serum Correlate with Combat-Related Chronic Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Depression Symptoms in US Veterans.

More than 75% of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are mild (mTBI) and military service members often experience repeated combat-related mTBI. The chronic comorbidities concomitant with repetitive mTBI (rmTBI) include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or neurological dysfunction. This study sought to determine a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression signature in serum samples that correlated with rmTBI years after the incidences.

Factors influencing shared decision-making for insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea treatment among Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury.

Study Objectives: We elicited perspectives of clinical stakeholders and Veterans regarding barriers and facilitators to implementing shared decision-making (SDM) for comorbid mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and sleep disorders in the Veterans Health Administration. We also compared the perspectives of clinical stakeholders and Veterans regarding determinants of SDM.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 29 clinical stakeholders and 20 Veterans (n = 49).

Stakeholder Engagement to Identify Implementation Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Delivering Chronic Pain Treatments: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to illustrate the process of stakeholder-engaged intervention mapping approach to identify implementation strategies to overcome data-driven prioritized barriers to receiving chronic pain services for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Community.

Participants: Healthcare providers (n = 63) with 2 or more years' experience treating persons with TBI, interviewed between October 2020 and November 2021 provided data for identification of barriers.

Provider Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers to Reaching and Utilizing Chronic Pain Healthcare for Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qualitative NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: To identify facilitators and barriers to reaching and utilizing chronic pain treatments for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) organized around an Access to Care framework, which includes dimensions of access to healthcare as a function of supply (ie, provider/system) and demand (ie, patient) factors for a specified patient population.

Setting: Community.

Participants: Clinicians (n = 63) with experience treating persons with TBI were interviewed between October 2020 and November 2021.

Provider Perceived Facilitators and Barriers to Identifying, Perceiving, and Seeking Healthcare for Chronic Pain After TBI: A Qualitative NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: Identify determinants to chronic pain healthcare for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) informed by an Access to Care Framework. Findings related to the Access Framework's core domains of identifying a need, perceptions of the need, and seeking healthcare are reported.

Setting: Community.

Characterizing Extreme Phenotypes for Perceived Improvement From Treatment in Persons With Chronic Pain Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: To define and characterize extreme phenotypes based on perceived improvement in pain for persons with chronic pain following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Eighteen Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (TBIMS) Centers.

Participants: A total of 1762 TBIMS participants 1 to 30 years post-injury reporting chronic pain at their most recent follow-up interview.

Characterizing Extreme Phenotypes for Pain Interference in Persons With Chronic Pain Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: To define and characterize extreme phenotypes based on pain interference for persons with chronic pain following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Eighteen Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (TBIMS) Centers.

Participants: A total of 1762 TBIMS participants 1 to 30 years post-injury reporting chronic pain at their most recent follow-up interview.

Relationship Between Extreme Pain Phenotypes and Psychosocial Outcomes in Persons With Chronic Pain Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

Objective: To examine the relationship between extreme pain phenotypes (interference and improvement) and psychosocial outcomes among those with chronic pain after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Community.

Participants: In total, 1762 TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) participants 1 to 30 years postinjury reporting chronic pain.

Exploring the relationship between sleep apnea and vestibular symptoms following traumatic brain injury.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex health problem in military veterans and service members (V/SM) that often involves comorbid vestibular impairment. Sleep apnea is another comorbidity that may exacerbate, and/or be exacerbated by, vestibular dysfunction.

Objective: To examine the relationship between sleep apnea and vestibular symptoms in V/SM diagnosed with TBI of any severity.