Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Nov 2010
ReviewCommon data elements for research on traumatic brain injury and psychological health: current status and future development.
The National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center jointly supported an effort to develop common data elements (CDEs, ie, consensus-based content domains of importance and recommended ways to measure them) for research on traumatic brain injury and psychological health. The authors served as participants in this effort as well as editors of the resulting articles. This article describes the current status of this multiagency endeavor, the obstacles encountered, and possible directions for future development. ⋯ The working groups also addressed this challenge in somewhat different ways. The CDE effort must enhance consensus among researchers with similar interests while not stifling innovation and scientific rigor. This will require regular updating of the recommendations and may benefit from more standardized criteria for the selection of important content areas and measurement tools across domains.