Improving well-being after traumatic brain injury through volunteering: a randomized controlled trial

To evaluate the efficacy of a novel intervention facilitating volunteer activity to improve well-being in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Randomized two-arm controlled trial, with a wait-list control condition (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT#01728350). Community-based setting. Seventy-four community-dwelling individuals at least 1-year post TBI, who had completed inpatient or outpatient TBI rehabilitation. A novel intervention, HOPE – Helping Others through Purpose and Engagement, involving orientation/training and a 3-month volunteer placement for the participant, along with training for community agencies regarding TBI. ): Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS); Flourishing Scale (FS); Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18); Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE); Purpose in Life subscale (one of six in the Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-Being – 54 item version). There were significantly greater improvements in life satisfaction (SWLS) and self-perceived success (FS) in the intervention group compared to the control group. There were no significant treatment effects on the additional secondary measures of well-being, although they trended in a positive direction. This study supports our primary hypothesis that individuals who take part in a volunteer intervention will demonstrate greater psychological well-being in comparison to a control group.

本研究旨在评估一项新型志愿服务干预方案对创伤性脑损伤（Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI）患者幸福感的改善效果。本研究为随机双臂对照试验，设置等待列表对照组，临床试验注册号为ClinicalTrials.gov NCT#01728350。研究开展于社区场景，共招募74名创伤性脑损伤后至少1年的社区定居患者，且所有受试者均已完成住院或门诊创伤性脑损伤康复治疗。本次研究采用的新型干预方案为HOPE——目标与参与赋能他人计划（Helping Others through Purpose and Engagement），具体内容包括针对参与者的定向培训与为期3个月的志愿服务安置，同时面向社区机构开展创伤性脑损伤相关培训。本研究采用的评估工具包括：生活满意度量表（Satisfaction With Life Scale, SWLS）、繁荣量表（Flourishing Scale, FS）、简易症状问卷-18（Brief Symptom Inventory-18, BSI-18）、正负性体验量表（Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, SPANE）以及莱福心理幸福感量表（Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-being，54条目版）中的生命意义子量表。研究结果显示，相较于对照组，干预组在生活满意度（SWLS）与自我感知成就（FS）方面的改善程度显著更优。其余次要幸福感评估指标未观察到显著的治疗效应，虽呈正向变化趋势，但未达到统计学显著性水平。本研究支持核心假设，即参与志愿服务干预的个体相较于对照组，可展现出更显著的心理幸福感提升。