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Are prisoners reliable...

Are prisoners reliable survey respondents Main Image

Are prisoners reliable survey respondents

Thu 03 Mar 2011

In this recent study, researchers in Australia assessed the reliability of self-reporting research by comparing prisoners' self-reported history of TBI associated with details extracted from relevant hospital medical records

A criticism often leveled at the research presented is that self-reporting of TBI among prisoners is unreliable. In this recent study, researchers in Australia assessed the reliability by comparing prisoners' self-reported history of TBI associated with details extracted from relevant hospital medical records.

Of the 200 participants in the study, 164 (82%) reported having sustained a past TBI giving a total of 420 separate TBI incidents. Of these, 156 (37%) were alleged to have resulted in attendance at a hospital emergency department including 112 (72%) at a hospital accessible for the validation exercise. For 93/112 (83%) of reported TBIs, a corresponding hospital medical record was located of which 78/112 (70%) supported the occurrence of a TBI.

Overall, these findings suggest that prisoners' self-report of TBI is generally accurate when compared with the 'gold standard' of hospital medical record. This finding is contrary to the perception of this group as 'dishonest' and 'unreliable'.

Reference

Schofield, P., Butler, T., Hollis, S. & D'Este, C. (2011) Are prisoners reliable survey respondents? A validation of self-reported traumatic brain injury (TBI) against hospital medical records, Brain Injury, 25 (1), 74-82 (available from http://informahealthcare.com/loi/bij).

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