The Brain Injury Research Center makes available screening and assessment tools that help providers identify and treat the very personal manifestations of traumatic brain injury in any one patient.
Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ)
Research suggests that a portion of the population suffer mild brain injury but never realize that problems they experience may be due to a blow to the head—even one that occurred years earlier. Identifying TBI in children and adults can contribute to seeking appropriate services that may help them cope with persistent symptoms related to a head injury.
We developed the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ) to screen for lifetime history of TBI and reduce the consequences of undiagnosed or untreated TBI. The BISQ is a structured questionnaire that characterizes incidence and severity of lifetime exposure to head trauma and TBI. The BISQ also includes a thorough assessment of symptoms, resulting in a profile of symptoms in four domains: attention and memory; depression, anxiety and mood; aggression and impulsivity; and physical symptoms. The BISQ may be completed via interview or self-administration, and can be conducted as a self- or proxy-report assessment.
The BISQ is suitable for use in a variety of settings such as schools, service agencies, and health programs. In one of our recent publications, we provide an overview of a series of projects that have used the BISQ in diverse settings and samples to screen for lifetime history of TBI and discuss public health implications.
If you are interested in developing a screening program, we can provide you with the BISQ and necessary technical assistance to insure appropriate use. There are costs associated with obtaining BISQ that includes training and access to the questionnaire, as well as a system for database storage, scoring, and a clinical report.
If you would like to obtain more information about how you can use the BISQ in your research or practice, e-mail Dr. Kristen Dams-O'Connor at kristen.dams-o'connor@mountsinai.org.