Clinical Research Directory

Comprehensive Assessment of Rehabilitation Experience Using the SAFE Scale

Patients with severe acquired brain injury (sABI) and disorders of consciousness (DoC) require intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation involving healthcare professionals, patients, and family caregivers. Caregivers play a key role in supporting patients and ensuring continuity of care, yet they frequently experience high levels of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, caregiver burden, and reduced quality of life. Previous studies have highlighted the need for clearer communication and greater caregiver involvement throughout the rehabilitation process. The Social and Family Evaluation (SAFE) scale was developed to actively involve caregivers in monitoring patients with DoC. Derived from the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), SAFE is a simplified, caregiver-friendly observational tool that enables family members to report clinically relevant behaviors observed during daily interactions. Preliminary validation demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, including high internal consistency, excellent test-retest reliability, and good criterion validity compared with the CRS-R. However, its effectiveness has not yet been investigated in the subacute rehabilitation setting. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of the SAFE scale improves caregivers' illness perceptions. Secondary objectives are to assess its impact on caregiver satisfaction with rehabilitation, decisional conflict, anxiety, depression, prolonged grief, and caregiver burden. This is a non-profit, prospective, multicenter, single-blind randomized controlled trial involving 68 caregiver-patient dyads recruited from three intensive neurorehabilitation units of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Florence, Milan, and Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi (Italy). Adult caregivers of patients with DoC admitted within three months after brain injury will be randomly assigned (1:1) to either the SAFE intervention group or a standard-care control group. Randomization will be stratified according to caregiver relationship (parent vs. non-parent) and patient diagnosis (vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome vs. other DoC). At baseline (T0), caregivers will complete the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), Family Strain Questionnaire (FSQ), Prolonged Grief Disorder-12 (PG-12), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). Patients will be assessed using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) and the Level of Cognitive Functioning (LCF). Caregivers allocated to the SAFE group will receive standardized training on the SAFE scale and complete it at 2 weeks (T1) and 6 weeks (T2), together with repeated BIPQ assessments. Control participants will receive routine clinical care and complete the BIPQ only. Both groups will receive the same psychoeducational booklet as standard care. At the final follow-up (T3, 10 weeks after enrollment), caregivers will repeat all baseline assessments and additionally complete the Family Satisfaction in Intensive Care Unit (FS-ICU) and the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS). Patients will undergo repeat CRS-R and LCF assessments together with the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE). The primary endpoint is the BIPQ Illness Coherence score at T2. The primary analysis will use ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values. Based on preliminary data, 68 caregivers will be enrolled to detect a clinically meaningful difference between groups while accounting for an expected 20% dropout rate. A blinded sample-size re-estimation will be performed after recruitment of the first 30 participants. Secondary analyses will evaluate the effects of the SAFE intervention on caregiver burden, prolonged grief, anxiety, depression, family satisfaction, and decisional conflict using adjusted statistical models. The study is considered low risk, as all procedures are consistent with routine clinical practice. If effective, the SAFE scale may enhance caregiver understanding of the patient's condition, improve communication with the rehabilitation team, promote shared decision-making, reduce psychological distress, and support a more family-centered approach to neurorehabilitation.