Introduction to the Family Needs Questionnaire

Many have recognized that brain injury impacts family members as well as the person with the injury. For many survivors, families assume the long-term responsibility of helping them return to an active life. Furthermore, injury-related changes disrupt family members' lives, often eliciting a long-term process of emotional turmoil, confusion, and grieving. The Family Needs Questionnaire (Kreutzer & Marwitz, 1989) was developed to provide information about family members' unique needs after traumatic brain injury. Information is collected regarding perceptions of: (1) the importance of needs; and (2) the extent to which each need has been met.

The FNQ includes 40 items representing diverse needs that may arise during acute rehabilitation, soon after discharge, and in the long-term. Factor analytically derived scales include: Health Information, Emotional Support, Instrumental Support, Professional Support, Community Support Network, and Involvement with Care. Family members are asked to indicate the importance of each perceived need and then rate the degree to which the need has been met.

Because the FNQ is proprietary, the complete set of items and the content of the manual are not provided in the COMBI. For further information, please contact: Jenny Marwitz, MA at for more information.

If you find the information in the COMBI useful, please mention it when citing sources of information. The information on the Family Needs Questionnaire may be cited as:

Marwitz, J. (2000). The Family Needs Questionnaire. The Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury. http://www.tbims.org/combi/fnq ( accessed ).