Prevalence of Spasticity in Veterans Living in a Long-term Care Facility

Prevalence of Spasticity in Veterans Living in a Long-term Care Facility

The purpose of the study is to conduct a feasibility survey of the prevalence of spasticity at a single long-term care facility for veterans and their spouses in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. These data will be used to strengthen a future grant application to the Department of Defense in response to their ongoing Traumatic Brain Injury initiative.

The goal of this feasibility survey is to determine the prevalence of spasticity that interferes with care or function at the Tennessee State Veterans Home (TSVH), which is a long-term care facility for veterans and their spouses in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In order to accomplish this goal, each of the 140 residents will be examined by the principal investigator and a medical record review will be performed; also, each patient and their medical decision-maker (if applicable), direct caregiver, and treating physician will be surveyed in order to further elucidate the barriers to treatment in this population. All consenting residents of the TSVH will be examined, but the data will be separated prior to analysis based on whether the resident is a veteran or a veteran's relative.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male and female subjects of any race, aged 18 and above.
• Reside at the Tennessee State Veterans Home

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects for whom it is felt that participation in the study would cause medical harm