The TED Friend Control Study

 

The TED Friend Control Study is Now Recruiting Friends of People Enrolled in TRACK-TBI

 

What is the TED Friend Control Study?

The purpose of the study is to learn more about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and how people recover from these injuries. We hope the data we are collecting on people who are injured, as well as those who are not injured, will help to develop treatments and clinical care for people with traumatic brain injuries in the future.

What are Friend Controls and How Can I Participate?

We’ve already enrolled more than 2,800 people who have suffered a TBI, across the spectrum of injury from concussion to coma. We are now enrolling people who have not recently suffered from a TBI to serve as a comparison group. By studying control subjects such as yourself, who share similar background characteristics to our TBI patients, we will be able to make observations as to how the injury itself, rather than other factors, is associated with the outcomes we are studying. Therefore, we are requesting that our participants with TBI share information about our important study with friends who may be interested in participating.

What are the Benefits of Participating?

You will receive no direct benefit by participating in this study. However, your participation may help doctors and researchers to better understand how people recover from TBI.

What is Involved in Participating?

We ask you for a commitment to a screening call and 4 study visits over the course of one year, or about 10-12 hours total. The commitment includes:

  • A screening evaluation** by phone to determine if you fit the criteria as a friend of a person with TBI and to answer your questions about the study (45 minutes)
  • In-person baseline visit within 30 days of the screening call, during which there will be an interview, blood draw, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and cognitive testing (3-4 hours)
  • 3-month follow-up; cognitive testing and interview by phone (1 hour)
  • 6-month visit, in-person, blood draw, MRI, cognitive testing (2.5 hours)
  • 12-month visit, in-person, cognitive testing (2 hours)

Will I be compensated? YES!

Depending on which portions of the study you complete, you can receive up to $700 as compensation for the time and effort you contribute to the study. The study may be able to reimburse travel costs getting to and from study visits and can arrange transportation for your visits if you choose.

How Do I Sign Up?

If you have a friend or family member already enrolled in TRACK-TBI, please contact them and they can put you in touch with a local TRACK-TBI coordinator. 

** Potential participants are screened before enrollment in the study. Individuals that are screened are not guaranteed placement in the study.