Purpose

This study will first evaluate the feasibility of delivering the ENGAGE-TBI intervention in a community setting with adults with TBI.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • at least 18 years old - experienced a TBI > 6 months prior to enrollment, confirmed by a physician as documented in their medical record - live in the St. Louis area - report problems with social participation (retention of < 80% of pre-TBI social activities as measured by Activity Card Sort)

Exclusion Criteria

  • insufficient English language fluency to participate in the group intervention - have active substance use disorder (PRIME-MD MINI) - have an untreated psychotic disorder (PRIME-MD MINI) - have severe memory impairment that would limit their ability to recall strategies with support (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, < 21)

Study Design

Phase
Phase 1
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
ENGAGE-TBI
The outcome measures for feasibility will be participant satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8), intervention fidelity, engagement in intervention (Pittsburgh Rehabilitation Participation Scale), attendance rate, and retention rate.
  • Behavioral: Social intervention study for TBI survivors
    ENGAGE-TBI is a community-based group intervention that is co-facilitated by an occupational therapist and a person with a brain injury. ENGAGE-TBI incorporates social learning, guided problem-solving, and skilled practice of strategies to achieve social participation goals. It is delivered in 12 90-minute group sessions that are held twice per week for 6 weeks. Aside from community outings, sessions will take place at the Brain Injury Association of Missouri on a separate day and time from education group sessions.

Recruiting Locations

Washington University in St. Louis and nearby locations

Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri 63110
Contact:
Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L Assistant Professor, PhD, OTR/L
+1 314 273 7540
jkersey@wustl.edu

More Details

NCT ID
NCT07549997
Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine

Study Contact

Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L Assistant Professor, PhD, OTR/L
+1 314 273 7540
jkersey@wustl.edu

Detailed Description

Social isolation is a prevalent and highly prioritized concern among people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), contributing to poor physical and mental health outcomes. Existing rehabilitation interventions have focused primarily on remediating underlying impairments, with limited success in improving social participation. A patient-directed, self-management approach may offer a promising alternative. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of ENGAGE-TBI, a novel, theory-driven occupational therapy intervention designed to reduce social isolation by increasing social participation among community-dwelling adults with TBI. Using a single-group pre-post design, this study will enroll 30 adults with TBI recruited through the Brain Injury Association of Missouri. ENGAGE-TBI is a 12-session group intervention co-facilitated by an occupational therapist and a peer mentor with TBI. The intervention integrates three core elements - social learning, guided problem-solving, and skilled community practice - delivered across six weeks. Feasibility outcomes include fidelity, participant engagement, satisfaction, attendance, and retention. The primary clinical outcome is social participation, measured using the PROMIS Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities. Feasibility outcomes will be examined descriptively against pre-specified benchmarks. Within-group Cohen's d effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals will be calculated to estimate intervention effects and variability, informing the design of a future randomized controlled trial. Findings will support the development of a fully-powered effectiveness trial. This study addresses a critical gap in TBI rehabilitation by testing a stakeholder-informed, community-based intervention that treats TBI as a chronic condition and prioritizes patient-directed goal achievement over impairment remediation.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.