The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Aspects of Health Among Community Dwelling Survivors of a Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aspects of health and lifestyle behaviors among community dwelling survivors of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. SETTING: Community-based. PARTICIPANTS: N = 28 community dwelling survivors of moderate/severe TBI and were at least one year up to 5-years post-injury (M age = 40.59; SD=18.61) and part of an ongoing study. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A checklist of comprehensive health/lifestyle areas. Participants were asked think about their experiences over the past year since the COVID-19 breakout and to indicate if the COVID-19 pandemic impacted various areas of health and lifestyle (yes/no). If they endorsed “yes”, they were then asked to indicate if the impact was for the better or worse for each endorsed area. They were then asked to elaborate on their response (qualitative data). RESULTS: All health areas were impacted by the pandemic. The most frequently impacted area was social relationships (64.3%) followed by leisure (53%), physical activity (46.4%), mental health (25%), mental activity (25%), stress management (21.4%), spirituality/purpose and meaning (21.4%), alcohol use (21.4%) and to a lesser extent tobacco use (17.9%), health knowledge/information (10.7%), nutrition (7.1%), and sleep (3.6%). Of those who endorsed being impacted by the pandemic, the following frequencies indicate health areas that worsened due to the pandemic: 92.3% for physical activity, 83.3% stress management, 83.3% social relationships, 83.3% spirituality/purpose and meaning, 71.4%, mental health, 66.7 % leisure, 66.7% tobacco use, 53.6% leisure, 50% alcohol use, and 25% mental activity. Areas that were reported “better” were 100% for nutrition and dietary intake, 100% for health knowledge/information, and 100% sleep. CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic negatively impact numerous health areas among community dwelling survivors of a TBI. Addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health areas along with taking into consideration the likely disruptions in healthcare will help identify survivors who may benefit from health promotion interventions to prevent or intervene on secondary health conditions. AUTHOR(S) DISCLOSURES: No conflicts of interest.