Kimberly Erler

Kimberly Erler
Massachusetts General Hospital | MGH

About

58
Publications
2,978
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
462
Citations

Publications

Publications (58)
Article
Objective Patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs), which capture patients' perspectives on the consequences of health and disease, are widely used in neurological care and research. However, it is unclear how PROMs relate to performance‐rated impairments. Sociodemographic factors are known to affect PROMs. Direct damage to brain regions critical...
Article
Objectives To identify personal, clinical, and environmental factors associated with 4 previously identified distinct multidimensional participation profiles of individuals following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Setting Community. Participants Participants ( n = 408) enrolled in the TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) Participation Module, all 1 year or m...
Article
Objective Patient-reported outcome measures provide valuable insights into health status after neurologic disease, but their relationships with function-based outcome measures remain incompletely understood. Here we evaluate the relationship between these two classes of measure using dimensionality-reduction techniques in patients after acute strok...
Article
Purpose. To characterize societal participation profiles after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) along objective (Frequency) and subjective (Satisfaction, Importance, Enfranchisement) dimensions.Materials and Methods. We conducted secondary analyses of a TBI Model Systems sub-study (N = 408). Multiaxial assessment of participation includ...
Article
Background and Objectives The classic and singular pattern of distal greater than proximal upper extremity motor deficits after acute stroke does not account for the distinct structural and functional organization of circuits for proximal and distal motor control in the healthy CNS. We hypothesized that separate proximal and distal upper extremity...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Traditional methods for obtaining outcomes for patients after acute stroke are resource-intensive. This study aimed to examine the feasibility, reliability, cost, and acceptability of collecting outcomes after acute stroke with a short message service (SMS)-text messaging program. Methods Patients were enrolled in an SMS-text messagin...
Article
Objectives: To examine the relationship between medications prescribed during the first 6-months post-stroke and functional outcome. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of ischemic stroke survivors enrolled in an observational stroke recovery study from June-2017 to July-2019 was performed. Survivors with favorable outcomes (modified ra...
Article
Objective(s) To characterize the concepts, perspectives, and response options of participation outcome measures conceptualized with input from individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). Data Sources PubMed, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab-Rehab Measures Database, NINDS Common Data Elements. Study Selection Measures were eligible for inclusion if they...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: In rehabilitation research and practice, participation is defined as involvement in life situations and most often measured as frequency of engaging in these life situations. This narrow measurement approach overlooks that individuals perceive importance of and satisfaction with participation in activities in various life areas different...
Article
Full-text available
Background The return to participation in meaningful life roles for persons with acquired brain injury (pwABI) is a goal shared by pwABI, their families, clinicians, and researchers. Synthesizing how pwABI define participation will help to identify the aspects of participation important to pwABI and can inform a person-centered approach to particip...
Article
Objective To determine whether consistent command-following (CCF) should be added to the diagnostic criteria for emergence from the minimally conscious state (eMCS) Design Retrospective cohort study Setting Inpatient rehabilitation hospital Participants Patients (n=214) with acquired brain injury resulting in disorders of consciousness (DoC) adm...
Article
Full-text available
While a significant literature has appeared discussing theoretical ethical concerns regarding COVID-19, particularly regarding resource prioritization, as well as a number of personal reflections on providing patient care during the early stages of the pandemic, systematic analysis of the actual ethical issues involving patient care during this tim...
Article
Background Precise measurement of outcomes is essential for stroke trials and clinical care. Prior research has highlighted conceptual differences between global outcome measures such as the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and domain-specific measures (e.g. motor, sensory, language or cognitive function). This study related motor phenotypes to the mRS,...
Article
Full-text available
Critical care society guidelines recommend that ethics committees mediate intractable conflict over potentially inappropriate treatment, including Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) status. There are, however, limited data on cases and circumstances in which ethics consultants recommend not offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) despite patient or surr...
Article
Research Objectives To develop, refine, and implement strategies for virtual qualitative research in individuals with brain injury (BI) using the Knowledge to Action Framework. Design To design a standard operating procedure (SOP) for remote qualitative data collection in BI populations, we conducted a literature review, adapted the intervention t...
Conference Paper
Research Objectives To determine whether consistent command following (CCF) may be a sign of emergence from the minimally conscious state (MCS). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Specialized disorders of consciousness (DoC) program in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Participants Patients with severe acquired brain injury and DoC....
Article
Introduction: Robust outcome data collection is critical for stroke care and clinical trials. However, reaching patients after discharge from acute care is challenging. This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and accuracy of collecting outcomes through a text message-based program after stroke. Methods: Patients discharged between June...
Article
Introduction: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide valuable insights into health status and function, but their relationships with performance-based outcomes remain incompletely understood. Here we compared these two classes of measures using dimensionality-reduction techniques with longitudinal data and examined their relationships wi...
Article
Full-text available
The Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionally affected communities of color and older adults in the United States. Nursing homes (NHs) have reported over 130,000 COVID-19 deaths (or one-fourth of all US deaths) circa March 2021, a high share of the nation’s total death count (CMS COVID-19 NH Data). These inequities partially driven...
Preprint
Objective: To determine whether consistent command-following (CCF) should be added to the diagnostic criteria for emergence from the minimally conscious state (MCS) Design: Retrospective cohort study Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation hospital Participants: Patients with severe acquired brain injury and disorders of consciousness (DoC) admitted to a...
Article
Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. In acute care, discharge planning is a primary role of OT for clients with arm impairment after stroke. Discharge planning accounts for many factors, including impairments, function, social supports, insurance, and the input of other discipline...
Article
Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Participation is the overarching goal of neurorehabilitation and OT interventions. Despite this emphasis on participation, evidence suggests that people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have poor participation. It is clear that socioeconomic s...
Article
Objective To test the hypothesis that cognitive demands influence motor performance during recovery from acute stroke, we tested acute stroke patients on two motor tasks with different cognitive demands and related task performance to cognitive impairment and neuroanatomic injury. Methods We assessed the contralesional and ipsilesional upper extre...
Article
Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and has been devastating for residents of nursing homes (NHs). However, evidence on racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-related mortality rates within NHs, and how that has changed over time has been limited. This study examines the...
Article
Advances in data science and timely access to health informatics provide a pathway to integrate patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into clinical workflows and optimize rehabilitation service delivery. With the shift toward value-based care in the US healthcare system, as highlighted by the recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in...
Article
Date Presented 03/28/20 Participation is a primary focus of OT and neurorehabilitation; however, there is a gap in understanding the association of depression and aging with participation. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) determine differences in participation between individuals with and without depression within the same age groups and (2) dete...
Article
Introduction: Injury to the corticospinal tract (CST) has been shown to have a major effect on upper extremity motor recovery after stroke. This study aimed to examine how well CST injury, measured from neuroimaging acquired during the acute stroke workup, predicts upper extremity motor recovery. Methods: Patients (N = 48) with upper extremity weak...
Article
Full-text available
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may result in a disorder of consciousness (DoC) and lead to substantial long-term disability. While level of independence with activities of daily living, especially for persons who recover consciousness during inpatient rehabilitation, generally improves over time, the degree of change in participation remains u...
Article
Full-text available
As acute stroke treatments advance, more people survive the initial stroke event and live with long-term neurological impairments that impact functional outcomes and quality of life. In accordance with International Classification of Functioning (ICF), living with long-term neurological impairments can limit survivors' activity performance and rest...
Article
During telehealth encounters, care partners may assist with physical maneuvers or examinations. These care partners may be friends or family members of the patient. There are unique ethical considerations in the use of care partners during telehealth examinations, yet there is limited guidance for such interactions. Evidence-based guidelines should...
Article
Background: The opioid epidemic has resulted in an increased number of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) hospitalized for serious medical conditions. The intersection between hospital ethics consultations and the opioid crisis has not received significant attention. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize ethics consult questi...
Article
Background and Purpose— Injury to the corticospinal tract (CST) has been shown to have a major effect on upper extremity motor recovery after stroke. This study aimed to examine how well CST injury, measured from neuroimaging acquired during the acute stroke workup, predicts upper extremity motor recovery. Methods— Patients with upper extremity we...
Article
Full-text available
Participation is a primary goal of neurorehabilitation; however, most individuals post stroke experience significant restrictions in participation as they attempt to resume their everyday roles and routines. Despite this emphasis on participation, there is a paucity of evidence-based interventions for optimizing this outcome and a limited understan...
Article
Participation restrictions, including restrictions in employment, recreational activities, and social interactions, and depression are common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can profoundly affect individuals. Participation and depression demonstrate complex relationships with each other and over time as individuals age. This study (1) identi...
Article
Date Presented 04/05/19 Primary Author and Speaker: Kimberly Erler Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah McKinnon, Virginia Sullivan Contributing Authors: Rebecca Inzana
Article
Objective: To determine whether rehospitalization during the first 2 years after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with poor participation at 5 years post-TBI, after controlling for demographic and severity factors. Setting: TBI Model Systems Program. Participants: Community-dwelling individuals with TBI, 16 years o...
Article
Participation is often considered a primary goal of traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation, but little is known about the influence of driving on participation after TBI. The objective of this study was to examine the independent contribution of driving status to participation at 5 years post TBI, after controlling for demographic, psychosocia...
Article
Objective: To identify factors that predict trajectories of participation over the first 5 years after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Setting: TBI Model System Programs. Participants: Community-dwelling individuals with TBI, 16 years of age or older (n = 1947). Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective, nonrandomly sample...
Article
We describe the structure, operation, and experience of the Massachusetts General Hospital ethics committee, formally called the Edwin H. Cassem Optimum Care Committee, from January 2007 through December 2013. Founded in 1974 as one of the nation's first hospital ethics committees, this committee has primarily focused on the optimum use of life-sus...

Network

Cited By