Preventing Brain Injury Through Education, Awareness, and Collaboration

David Loebsack
Health.mil

March 05, 2010 - The Department of Defense’s leading organization for the treatment and research of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is heading a unified campaign to promote TBI prevention and awareness throughout the U.S. Armed Forces.

Equipped with extensive knowledge, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) begins its approach with an aggressive traumatic brain injury (TBI) education initiative aimed at both service members and their dependents. While commonly associated as a battlefield injury, service members and their families alike are also at risk for sustaining a TBI at home. Common causes of TBIs include falls, motor vehicle crashes, and sports related incidents.

“Many of the programs at DCoE look at prevention being centered on education and awareness campaigns,” said Kathy Helmick, the interim senior executive director for TBI and director of the TBI Clinical Standards of Care Directorate at DCoE.

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) has joined DCoE in this endeavor and both are working to raise awareness about TBI and emphasize tips for preventing unnecessary injury such as the use of helmets and seat belts and safe driving behaviors.

In addition, DoD researchers are trying to identify pre-injury conditions that place an individual at greater risk for either sustaining a TBI or developing symptoms following a TBI. There is hope that as research progresses these efforts will lead to the development of a military medical protocol that can prevent high-risk personnel from developing symptoms following TBI.

“This research has been an intriguing part of the puzzle,” Helmick said. “We are working to discern what relevant pre-injury factors can help us predict post-injury consequences.”

The second half of the DoD’s prevention campaign involves in-depth collaboration with the operational and materiel communities in developing the next generation of protective equipment.

“We are also facilitating, partnering, leveraging and connecting people to achieve a better technological standard in head protection,” Helmick said.

Helmick said the key word is facilitation. DCoE introduces relevant experts, data, and clinical corollaries to research and development teams within the materiel community so they can make informed design decisions.

“They tell us about what is important in helmet design – which is not our area of expertise – and we tell them about traumatic brain injury – which is not their area of expertise.”

Prevention, Helmick said, is the best course of action. She and the rest of the DCoE team hope that through education, awareness and collaboration with subject matter experts at DVBIC, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, the services and the Department of Veterans Affairs, service members and their families will be better informed and better equipped to withstand the hazards of the modern battlefield and the everyday hazards on the home front.

“The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of TBIs,” Helmick said.