GOS-E Frequently Asked Questions

1. The person that I am interviewing told me that he participates in social/leisure activities as much as before the injury. However, his mother told me that his friends don't come around anymore and that he rarely gets out of the house. How should I rate this?
   
2. The person that I interviewed has not worked since the injury, but they had also been unemployed for several years prior to the injury. How will this affect their rating?
   
3. The person that I interviewed had a leg amputated as a result of the same accident that resulted in his brain injury. Prior to injury, he worked as a construction worker, but has been unable to return to work since the injury. Should I rate him as restricted from work?

1. The person that I am interviewing told me that he participates in social/leisure activities as much as before the injury. However, his mother told me that his friends don't come around anymore and that he rarely gets out of the house. How should I rate this?

The GOS-E is not meant to be a self-perception instrument. Raters should rate each item based on the most accurate information they have, regardless of source. If you feel that the person with injury has impaired awareness and that his mother's perception is more accurate, you should rate "less than before injury." On the other hand, if you feel that the mother does not have accurate knowledge of the person's social activities, then you would rate "able to resume regular social and leisure activities." The following guidelines should help with the rating. Although you are administering the interview to one person, you can obtain clarification from other sources if you feel that a particular item or items is inaccurate. For example, if the person with injury is the only person available for interview, you would administer the interview to them. However, if that person has limited insight into difficulties, and you know from another source that some of the answers are inaccurate, you can rate those particular items based on the most accurate information you have. An example is that if someone is in your post-acute program at the time of follow-up, and they tell you they can travel without assistance, while their therapist says that they are medically restricted from driving and are currently receiving transportation training, you should rate the information based on what you feel is the most accurate source. Always seek as much clarification as you need to make the most accurate rating.

2. The person that I interviewed has not worked since the injury, but they had also been unemployed for several years prior to the injury. How will this affect their rating?

According to Wilson et al. (p. 576), "If the person was unemployed and not seeking work before the injury, then they should be rated on the answers given to questions 6 and 7. For example, if the person is long-term unemployed or retired, then they should be rated on social and leisure activities and personal relationships."

3. The person that I interviewed had a leg amputated as a result of the same accident that resulted in his brain injury. Prior to injury, he worked as a construction worker, but has been unable to return to work since the injury. Should I rate him as restricted from work?

The GOS-E does not directly distinguish between disability due to brain injury and disability due to other bodily injuries. The user should rate according to the purpose of their research. If you are interested in outcomes from the injury as a whole, and not specifically due to brain injury, then you would rate this person as restricted from work. If you are interested in the effects of the brain injury itself, then you would use your judgement about whether his cognitive and behavioral abilities would enable him to return to work even if he still had his leg. If you believe he would be able to return to work except for the amputation, then you would rate him as unrestricted.