A - 168 Self-Awareness in Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury and the Impact on Family Burden.

Abstract

Caregiver burden is commonly experienced by family members of survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI). Research has demonstrated that self-awareness of survivors of ABI impacts family member burden (Rubin et al. 2020). This study utilized the discrepancy model of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4) to measure self-awareness by calculating a discrepancy score from self and family member-rated MPAI-4 total score. We examined the relationship between family member burden, time since injury, and level of self-awareness of survivors of ABI at discharge following holistic neurorehabilitation. This retrospective study analyzed data on 28 individuals with heterogeneous ABI's who participated in a holistic milieu-oriented outpatient neurorehabilitation program from 2020-2023. Demographic information (age, education, race/ethnicity), injury history (injury type, age at injury, chronicity), program variables (length of program participation), functionality (MPAI-4), and family burden (Zarit Burden Interview) at discharge were collected. A multiple linear regression analysis was run to predict family burden from self-awareness of survivors of ABI and time since injury. The multiple regression model statistically significantly predicted family burden, F(2, 24) = 6.698, p < 0.005, adj. R2 = 0.305. Only self-awareness added statistically significantly to the prediction, p < 0.002. Self-awareness accounted for 33.4% of the variance in family burden. Among family members of survivors of ABI, self-awareness of the survivor is an important predictor of burden experienced by family. Self-awareness, as measured by utilizing the MPAI-4 discrepancy model, explained a significant proportion of the variance in family burden regardless of time since injury.