The assessment of mood in people with severe cognitive and communication impairments following brain injury - a survey of UK-based professionals

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Dusta123

The study evaluates how UK healthcare professionals assess mood in people who have ongoing cognitive and receptive communication impairments after severe brain injury. Two online surveys targeted clinical psychologists and medical professionals, collecting both multiple-choice and open-text responses. Analyses used descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results showed reliance on asking others, use of standardized measures with frequent adaptations, and modifications to both administration and scoring that raise concerns about validity. Findings revealed no clear consensus on optimal mood assessment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Aim

Method

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Brain Injury ISSN: 0269-9052 (Print) 1362-301X (Online) Journal [homepage: ](homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/ibij20)[www.tandfonline.com/journals/ibij20](homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/ibij20) The assessment of mood in people with severe cognitive and communication impairments following brain injury: a survey of UK-based professionals Alexandra E. Rose, Breda Cullen, Sarah Crawford & Jonathan J. Evans To cite this article: Alexandra E. Rose, Breda Cullen, Sarah Crawford & Jonathan J. Evans (2025) The assessment of mood in people with severe cognitive and communication impairments following brain injury: a survey of UK-based professionals, Brain Injury, 39: 11, 947-962, DOI: 10. 1080/02699052 .2025.2493354 To link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2025.2493354](https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2025.2493354) © 2025 The Author(s) . Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. | Published online: 20 Apr 2025. | | | --- | --- | | | Submit your article to this journal | | | Article views: 1024 | | | View related articles | | View Crossmark data | | Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ibij20](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ibij20) BRAIN INJURY 2025, VOL. 39, NO. 11, 947–962 [https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2025.2493354](https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2025.2493354) The assessment of mood in people with severe cognitive and communication impairments following brain injury: a survey of UK-based professionals Alexandra E. Rosea,b, Breda Cullena, Sarah Crawfordb, and Jonathan J. Evansa aSchool of Health and Wellbeing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Scotland; bDepartment of psychology and England, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, London ABSTRACT Aim: Assessing mood via standardized measures and clinical interviews is challenging in people with ongoing cognitive and receptive communication impairments after a severe brain injury. This study examined how healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom assess this population via two online surveys, one of clinical psychologists (CPs) and one of medical professionals (MPs) . Method: Recruitment was completed via social media and invitational e-mails to identified services, professional bodies and special interest groups. Survey responses were via multiple choice and free text. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results: 55 CPs and 29 MPs responded. All respondents reported asking others about the patient’s mood, and the majority of both groups interview and observe the patient. 86% of CPs and 45% of MPs use standardized measures. Most of the CPs made adaptations to the measures, as did more than a third of MPs. The majority of both groups made adaptations to the scores. Conclusions: Most clinicians assessing mood in this population ask others about the person. Mood measures are used, but the administration and score interpretation are frequently adapted, bringing the validity of the use of measures in this population into question. Although there was overlap regarding methods used by surveyed clinicians, there was no clear consensus on how mood should be assessed in this population. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 20 April 2024 Revised 10 March 2025 Accepted 8 April 2025 KEYWORDS Brain injury; mood; assessment; survey; Depression Introduction Brain damage due to traumatic events (e.g. falls, car accidents, assaults), infection, ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes or hypoxia (e.g. following cardiac arrest), is a growing cause of hospitalizations and disability ( 1) . Distress, low mood, and depression are common phenomena following acquired brain injuries (ABI) (2–6), (7), with incidence reported to range between 30 and 70%. This variance in incidence may be attributed to heterogeneous samples, vari

FAQs

What was the aim of the study?

To examine how UK healthcare professionals assess mood in people with severe cognitive and receptive communication impairments following a severe brain injury.

How were participants recruited and how were survey responses analyzed?

Responses were recruited via social media and invitational emails, then analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.

What did the study find about the use of standardized mood measures?

Most respondents reported using mood measures, but administration and score interpretation were frequently adapted, reducing confidence in the validity of measure use in this population.

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Dusta123