International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences

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Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES): Utility of a Survey of Quality of Life During Recovery from Concussion

Received: 12 November 2019    Accepted: 02 December 2019    Published: 09 December 2019
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Abstract

Current research indicates that pediatric patients experience quality-of-life (QOL) issues during recovery from concussion. However, measures of health related QOL issues in youth have generally focused on chronic illness and do not address the unique experience of brain injury. The Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES) was developed to gain a better understanding of youth perspectives on QOL during recovery from concussion. The PLACES is a self-rating instrument examining patient perspectives on cognition, emotion, social life, and school support. Study participants were 277 patients, receiving treatment for concussion at a single regional concussion clinic. Examination of reliability using Cronbach’s alpha indicated strong performance with internal consistency (r =.92). The Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) was used for comparison as this measure is commonly used to examine patient symptoms in clinical settings. Convergent and divergent validity of the PLACES was examined. Convergent validity was evident across the two measures (r=.732, p=.001). Exploratory factor analysis identified 5 factors and indicated divergent factors related to emotion, social concerns, and school. Analyses demonstrated that the PLACES domains measure different aspects of quality of life issues during recovery from concussion than traditional symptom scales, thereby offering support for the proposed domain structure of the PLACES. This measure appears to provide additional information that is clinically relevant and not available on symptom scales. Initial psychometrics indicate that the PLACES has the potential to function as a QOL measure specific to concussion and will assist in greater specificity of treatment during recovery.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11
Published in International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 6, December 2019)
Page(s) 56-64
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Concussion, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Health-Related Quality of Life, Recovery, School

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Psychology, Cabrini University, Radnor, United States

  • Saint Peter’s University Hospital Sports Medicine Institute, Somerset, United States

  • Department of Psychology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, United States

  • Brain Behavior Bridge, Haddon Heights, United States

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ruta Clair, Arlene Goodman, George McCloskey, Sarah Levin Allen. (2019). Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES): Utility of a Survey of Quality of Life During Recovery from Concussion. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 4(6), 56-64. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11

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    ACS Style

    Ruta Clair; Arlene Goodman; George McCloskey; Sarah Levin Allen. Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES): Utility of a Survey of Quality of Life During Recovery from Concussion. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2019, 4(6), 56-64. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11

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    AMA Style

    Ruta Clair, Arlene Goodman, George McCloskey, Sarah Levin Allen. Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES): Utility of a Survey of Quality of Life During Recovery from Concussion. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2019;4(6):56-64. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11,
      author = {Ruta Clair and Arlene Goodman and George McCloskey and Sarah Levin Allen},
      title = {Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES): Utility of a Survey of Quality of Life During Recovery from Concussion},
      journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {56-64},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20190406.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20190406.11},
      abstract = {Current research indicates that pediatric patients experience quality-of-life (QOL) issues during recovery from concussion. However, measures of health related QOL issues in youth have generally focused on chronic illness and do not address the unique experience of brain injury. The Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES) was developed to gain a better understanding of youth perspectives on QOL during recovery from concussion. The PLACES is a self-rating instrument examining patient perspectives on cognition, emotion, social life, and school support. Study participants were 277 patients, receiving treatment for concussion at a single regional concussion clinic. Examination of reliability using Cronbach’s alpha indicated strong performance with internal consistency (r =.92). The Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) was used for comparison as this measure is commonly used to examine patient symptoms in clinical settings. Convergent and divergent validity of the PLACES was examined. Convergent validity was evident across the two measures (r=.732, p=.001). Exploratory factor analysis identified 5 factors and indicated divergent factors related to emotion, social concerns, and school. Analyses demonstrated that the PLACES domains measure different aspects of quality of life issues during recovery from concussion than traditional symptom scales, thereby offering support for the proposed domain structure of the PLACES. This measure appears to provide additional information that is clinically relevant and not available on symptom scales. Initial psychometrics indicate that the PLACES has the potential to function as a QOL measure specific to concussion and will assist in greater specificity of treatment during recovery.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - Current research indicates that pediatric patients experience quality-of-life (QOL) issues during recovery from concussion. However, measures of health related QOL issues in youth have generally focused on chronic illness and do not address the unique experience of brain injury. The Pediatric Life After Concussion Evaluation Scale (PLACES) was developed to gain a better understanding of youth perspectives on QOL during recovery from concussion. The PLACES is a self-rating instrument examining patient perspectives on cognition, emotion, social life, and school support. Study participants were 277 patients, receiving treatment for concussion at a single regional concussion clinic. Examination of reliability using Cronbach’s alpha indicated strong performance with internal consistency (r =.92). The Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) was used for comparison as this measure is commonly used to examine patient symptoms in clinical settings. Convergent and divergent validity of the PLACES was examined. Convergent validity was evident across the two measures (r=.732, p=.001). Exploratory factor analysis identified 5 factors and indicated divergent factors related to emotion, social concerns, and school. Analyses demonstrated that the PLACES domains measure different aspects of quality of life issues during recovery from concussion than traditional symptom scales, thereby offering support for the proposed domain structure of the PLACES. This measure appears to provide additional information that is clinically relevant and not available on symptom scales. Initial psychometrics indicate that the PLACES has the potential to function as a QOL measure specific to concussion and will assist in greater specificity of treatment during recovery.
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