March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, with observances led by the Brain Injury Association of America. Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is lasting brain damage from an injury that results from an external force such as a fall or a blow to the head. TBI can change the way a person’s brain works, causing physical, cognitive, and emotional/behavioral problems. While many people with TBI face common challenges, research has shown there is some diversity in how people experience TBI and its recovery depending on their ethnicity or racial group, or their gender. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people from American Indian communities have higher rates of TBI-related hospitalization and death than other racial and ethnic groups. 

Recent NIDILRR-funded research and development has examined the intersections of TBI and ethnicity, race, gender, and resources to support the diversity of TBI recovery. Here are a few of these projects and what they are working on:

• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Resource Bundle for American Indians. This project develops a TBI resource toolkit in collaboration with the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board with the goal to increase awareness, knowledge, and health behaviors leading to improved health and function outcomes for American Indians with TBI and their families. To improve rehabilitation care and outcomes for American Indians living with TBI and reduce health disparities, this project collaborated with American Indian partners to publish three new, culturally relevant information resources on understanding TBI, alcohol use and TBI, and concussion recovery.
• The Ohio Regional TBI Model System.This model system includes a site-specific project which examines social determinants of health, their effect on outcomes, and sources of actionable intervention. The module project examines the effect on outcomes of state programs and services in the context of other social supports received. Researchers utilize both quantitative and qualitative research methods and recruitment strategies to ensure applicable knowledge for individuals from under-represented racial/ethnic backgrounds, as well as women and persons living in rural areas.
• Mayo Clinic Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Center. Research from this center focuses on characterizing and addressing TBI incidence, impact, and health inequities in Upper Great Lakes Tribal communities. Tribal communities in this region are at the highest risk for TBI, having experienced historical and persistent socioeconomic and health inequities associated with poor health outcomes. The goals of this center are generating new knowledge concerning the epidemiological profile of TBI among Tribal communities in the upper Great Lakes region and understanding the lived experience and medical, cultural, and social support needs of this target population. Project outcomes include developing a more accurate understanding of epidemiological characteristics of TBI in Tribal communities and identifying what is most important about TBI to them. The long-term outcome of the project is to establish a foundation of trust, respect, and knowledge to build sustainable community-based participatory research relationships between Mayo Clinic, Tribal communities, and Trauma Programs in the upper Great Lakes states.
• Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury System (NNJTBIS). This center is collaborating on research utilizing a mixed methods approach to move beyond identifying the existence of health disparities in TBI rehabilitation by examining the ways in which the social determinants of health are associated with the persistence of those disparities. Racial/ethnic minorities are often at greater risk for TBI and less likely to receive quality care due to a variety of socioeconomic and cultural factors. By exploring these factors, researchers are developing culturally sensitive approaches to improve rehabilitation outcomes, including recovery, quality of life, community participation, and employment. This research underscores the importance of addressing diversity in recruitment efforts for rehabilitation research studies to ensure that treatment protocols reflect the needs of the diverse population of individuals with TBI and their caregivers. Learn about this center’s study which found a link between living in linguistically diverse communities and recovery for Hispanics with TBI.
• Virginia Commonwealth University TBI Model System. This center include research to assess the extent to which the racial, ethnic and disability identity of persons with TBI and their discrimination experiences affect disparities in TBI rehabilitation outcomes. They are building disparity risk models for TBI outcomes and a toolkit for delivering culturally competent TBI rehabilitation care. Sign up for their newsletter to learn more about these projects and how to participate.
• Southeastern Michigan Traumatic Brain Injury System. This center includes The Menopause Transition in Women with Traumatic Brain Injury project which examines the experience of menopause symptoms during menopause in women with TBI and whether this experience differs from women without TBI. The overall goal of the study is characterizing menopause in women with TBI, with a long-term goal of helping guide intervention strategies and maximizing overall health and well-being.
• Rusk Rehabilitation Traumatic Brain Injury Model System (RRTBIMS). One goal of this center is to understand the facilitators and barriers to managing TBI while considering the diverse experiences of racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and to provide interventions and recommendations to impact the holistic experience of living with a TBI from individual action and community involvement to healthcare collection management.
• The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center. This center works with the TBI Model System Centers to develop information resources to meet the diverse needs of the TBI community. Explore the collection of Spanish-language factsheets, infographics, and other information products.

These are a few examples of how the NIDILRR grantee community is examining the intersections of TBI and ethnicity, race, gender, and other social, cultural, and economic identities. Explore more research in the NIDILRR Program Database.

Our Research In Focus series has also highlighted this topic:

• Return to Driving May Be an Important Goal for Improving Quality of Life for People with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury found disparities in return to driving between White and Black TBI survivors and between those who lived in rural and urban areas.
• Spanish-Speaking Immigrants Share Experiences Adjusting to Traumatic Brain Injury found disparities in access to rehabilitation services and language barriers with providers, among other challenges to their recovery.

More research from these projects, as well as the wider disability and rehabilitation research community, is indexed in our REHABDATA database. Explore on your own or contact our Information Specialists who can help you craft a targeted search strategy to meet your research needs.