TY - JOUR

T1 - Asking questions that are “close to the bone”

T2 - integrating thematic analysis and natural language processing to explore the experiences of people with traumatic brain injuries engaging with patient-reported outcome measures

AU - Di Basilio, Daniela

AU - King, Lorraine

AU - Lloyd, Sarah

AU - Michael, Panayiotis

AU - Shardlow, Matthew

PY - 2024/6/25

Y1 - 2024/6/25

N2 - Introduction: Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) are valuable tools for assessing health-related quality of life and treatment effectiveness in individuals with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Understanding the experiences of individuals with TBIs in completing PROMs is crucial for improving their utility and relevance in clinical practice. Methods: Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of individuals with TBIs. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to identify themes and emotional connotations related to the experiences of completing PROMs. Results: The TA of the data revealed six key themes regarding the experiences of individuals with TBIs in completing PROMs. Participants expressed varying levels of understanding and engagement with PROMs, with factors such as cognitive impairments and communication difficulties influencing their experiences. Additionally, insightful suggestions emerged on the barriers to the completion of PROMs, the factors facilitating it, and the suggestions for improving their contents and delivery methods. The sentiment analyses performed using NLP techniques allowed for the retrieval of the general sentimental and emotional “tones” in the participants’ narratives of their experiences with PROMs, which were mainly characterised by low positive sentiment connotations. Although mostly neutral, participants’ narratives also revealed the presence of emotions such as fear and, to a lesser extent, anger. The combination of a semantic and sentiment analysis of the experiences of people with TBIs rendered valuable information on the views and emotional responses to different aspects of the PROMs. Discussion: The findings highlighted the complexities involved in administering PROMs to individuals with TBIs and underscored the need for tailored approaches to accommodate their unique challenges. Integrating TA-based and NLP techniques can offer valuable insights into the experiences of individuals with TBIs and enhance the interpretation of qualitative data in this population.

AB - Introduction: Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) are valuable tools for assessing health-related quality of life and treatment effectiveness in individuals with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Understanding the experiences of individuals with TBIs in completing PROMs is crucial for improving their utility and relevance in clinical practice. Methods: Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of individuals with TBIs. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to identify themes and emotional connotations related to the experiences of completing PROMs. Results: The TA of the data revealed six key themes regarding the experiences of individuals with TBIs in completing PROMs. Participants expressed varying levels of understanding and engagement with PROMs, with factors such as cognitive impairments and communication difficulties influencing their experiences. Additionally, insightful suggestions emerged on the barriers to the completion of PROMs, the factors facilitating it, and the suggestions for improving their contents and delivery methods. The sentiment analyses performed using NLP techniques allowed for the retrieval of the general sentimental and emotional “tones” in the participants’ narratives of their experiences with PROMs, which were mainly characterised by low positive sentiment connotations. Although mostly neutral, participants’ narratives also revealed the presence of emotions such as fear and, to a lesser extent, anger. The combination of a semantic and sentiment analysis of the experiences of people with TBIs rendered valuable information on the views and emotional responses to different aspects of the PROMs. Discussion: The findings highlighted the complexities involved in administering PROMs to individuals with TBIs and underscored the need for tailored approaches to accommodate their unique challenges. Integrating TA-based and NLP techniques can offer valuable insights into the experiences of individuals with TBIs and enhance the interpretation of qualitative data in this population.

KW - traumatic brain injury

KW - sentiment analysis

KW - healthcare development

KW - patient-reported outcome measures

KW - artificial intelligence

KW - natural language processing

U2 - 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1387139

DO - 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1387139

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

JO - Frontiers in Digital Health

JF - Frontiers in Digital Health

SN - 2673-253X

M1 - 1387139

ER -