TBI Care: Collaborative Care for Pain After Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

The purpose of this study is to (1) test the benefits of the patient-centered collaborative care treatment approach for persons who have had a TBI and who have pain, including headache; and also (2) test whether this approach improves quality of life, patient satisfaction, adherence to other treatments, and quality of care in the TBI care system. This project uses the contextual paradigm of disability to analyze and improve outpatient treatment of pain, including headache, in people who have had a TBI. Issues of restricted access and health care system complexity likely contribute to sub-optimal treatment of chronic pain. Therefore, the investigators seek to enhance real-world outpatient healthcare delivery through a patient-centered, collaborative care approach to treating chronic pain. The intervention is structured to reduce pain interference directly and indirectly through improved management of pain and comorbid conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties) that can amplify pain perception and disability. In addition, change in the system of care may reduce burden on the emergency department. The investigators have heard from our clinician and patient partners that poor pain management often leads to emergency department visits, and this has also been reported in the literature.