Treatment Comparison for Undergraduate College Students With Traumatic Brain Injury

University of Arizona

Status: Completed

Conditions: Traumatic Brain Injury; Concussion, Brain

Treatments: Behavioral: Dynamic Coaching Model; Behavioral: Apprenticeship Approach

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04628741

IRB 2010102285

Details and patient eligibility

About

Up to 28% of undergraduate college students report a suspected history of traumatic brain injury. Following traumatic brain injury, college students fail and repeat more courses and have lower grade point averages. Further complicating this problem may be the fact that college students lack knowledge of traumatic brain injury definition, its associated symptoms, and individuals involved in post-injury management. In this project, the investigators propose to compare the use of an established treatment model (i.e., the Dynamic Coaching Model) to a novel protocol (i.e., the Apprenticeship Approach) that includes explicit instruction about traumatic brain injury in college students with this population. The investigators will use a group comparison design to examine the efficacy of this instructional component. This work incorporates findings from educational psychology and speech-language pathology (e.g., the included instructional materials adhere to the principles of adult learning). As such, this work will advance the field's basic understanding of currently recommended treatment components and will systematically examine the effects of incorporating explicit instruction into an existing treatment model.

Enrollment: 12 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a documented history of mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury no more than 36 months prior to study initiation
• speak English as a primary language
• at least 18 years of age
• demonstrate no barriers related to hearing, vision, reading, or technology that prevent successful experimental task completion.

Exclusion criteria

• no documented history of mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury
• injury occurred more than 36 months prior to study initiation
• do not speak English as a primary language
• are not at least 18 years of age
• demonstrate barriers related to hearing, vision, reading, or technology that prevent successful experimental task completion.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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12 participants in 2 patient groups

Dynamic Coaching Model

Active Comparator group

Description:

The Dynamic Coaching Model is an established treatment approach that entails training college students with executive function impairments (e.g., those with a history of traumatic brain injury) to rely on their own executive functions in order to problem solve and reason in real-life situations requiring them to do so (e.g., taking college classes).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Dynamic Coaching Model

Apprenticeship Approach for College Students

Experimental group

Description:

The Apprenticeship Approach is a novel treatment approach that incorporates explicit education about: (a) traumatic brain injury definition; (b) traumatic brain injury symptomatology; and (c) individuals who may be able to provide assistance to the individual with traumatic brain injury into the existing Dynamic Coaching Model.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Apprenticeship Approach