@article{ref1,
title="Health outcomes of traumatic brain injury among refugee survivors of torture",
journal="Journal of head trauma rehabilitation",
year="2015",
author="Keatley, Eva and dʼAlfonso, Alana and Abeare, Christopher A. and Keller, Allen and Bertelsen, Nathan S.",
volume="30",
number="6",
pages="E1-8",
abstract="OBJECTIVE:: To compare spontaneous reporting of health complaints in a sample of refugee survivors of torture with a history of moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) with survivors of torture without TBI and analyze the contribution of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms to health outcomes. PARTICIPANTS:: Treatment-seeking refugee survivors of torture with a moderate/severe TBI (n = 85) and a control group (n = 72) of survivors who suffered a physical injury during their persecution but had no history of a head injury. MEASURES:: Health outcomes included a self-report of general physical health (scale 1-5), number of medical visits, and a scaled score of the number of health complaints. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was used to measure posttraumatic stress disorder. <br><br>RESULTS:: Moderate/severe TBI was associated with more health complaints but not higher HTQ scores. TBI and HTQ scores are independently associated with a greater number of health complaints, and an interaction between TBI and HTQ scores suggests that the relationship between moderate/severe TBI and the number of health complaints strengthened with increased posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS:: Health complaints may be a common expression of psychological trauma, and service providers should be certain to explore both medical and psychological contributors when assessing refugee survivors of torture.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0885-9701",
doi="10.1097/HTR.0000000000000103",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0000000000000103"
}