HAS FAQ

Who can administer the HAS? The HAS can be administered by any caregiver, unit supervisor, or clinician familiar with daily care and supervision needs of the person being rated. 

Which patients are appropriate? The HAS is validated on patients that have brain injury, spinal cord injury, and/or multiple orthopedic injuries living in post-acute residential rehabilitation placements.  

What settings can the HAS be used in? The HAS can be used with patients in long-term supervised residences and in structured community apartment residences. The HAS has not yet been validated for use in acute or post-acute hospital settings (e.g. Inpatient Rehab Facilities, IRF) or Sub-Acute Nursing Facilities (SNF), but is appropriate for research in such settings.  

Why are there two subscales? The HAS was developed to capture the care needs for persons with neuro rehabilitation. These are often influenced by both medical procedures and care routines and also influenced by protective supervision requirements due to confusion, impulsivity, and mood regulation, conditions common to brain injury. Factor analysis confirms the two-factor construction.  

What makes the HAS different than other measures of outcome? Acuity – unlike severity, complexity, or other patient injury variables – measures the care needs required of staff directly. It is a measure of staff workload and burden of care that is related to, but distinct from injury conditions, often influenced by policy, risk management, program resources, and care standards.