Supporting Individuals with Acquired or Traumatic Brain Injuries

The following course will discuss various brain injuries and how to support these individuals in your practice. An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is a brain injury that occurs after birth and results in any combination of focal and widespread central nervous system dysfunction, both immediate and/or delayed at the brain stem level and above. Additionally, this central nervous system dysfunction is caused by the interaction of any external force with the body, including blows to the head and violent motions of the body (Traumatic Brain Injury), as well as oxygen deprivation, among other things. Furthermore, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen when an external force causes severe damage to the brain. Common causes of TBI include falls, automobile accidents, and sports injuries. In addition, concussions are the most common form of TBI.

What You’ll Learn

• Introduction to brain injuries
  • Acquired brain injuries
  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
  • Effects of TBIs
  • TBI high-risk populations
• Care recommendations
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Treatment of TBIs
  • Strategies to use for patients with TBIs
• Conclusions regarding behavioral health considerations

Details

Course length: 45 minutes; CEU: 0.75 Languages: American English Key features: Audio narration, learning activity, and post-assessment.

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How Common are Traumatic Brain Injuries?

One in every five adults may have had at least one TBI that resulted in loss of consciousness. Additionally, almost one in every twenty people has experienced a moderate or severe TBI, a degree of severity that is likely to have long-term consequences even if it does not result in impairment. While the incidence of impairment due to TBI is estimated to be 1.1% among U.S. adults, the prevalence rate is significantly greater when all long-term repercussions are considered.

Effects of TBIs

Cognitive consequences comprising the ability to think efficiently, multitask, and persevere at a task without getting mentally weary or angry may appear in the days or weeks following a brain injury. Their sensory processes may be impaired, causing light levels to appear overly bright and regular noises to be too loud and distracting. These people may also have diminished abilities to read, see, or hear. There are also links between one’s behavioral health and their traumatic brain injury. TBI is well-known to be associated with mental health comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance use disorders. An extensive review discovered that the incidence of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorders following TBI exceeded population rates, with onset typically occurring within the first year, but this could be delayed with more severe injuries.

Best Strategies to Use for Patients with TBI

If you are screening a patient for a traumatic or acquired brain injury, there are four steps you should always follow. These include:

1. Screening for a history of TBI
2. Assessing accommodations for neurobehavioral deficits from executive function impairments
3. Using a holistic approach to co-morbid conditions (e.g., substance use disorder, mental illness, chronic pain, sleep disorder)
4. Create formal and/or informal supports available during and after treatment completion

It is also important to remember that brain injuries affect individuals differently depending on their age. Brain injuries for children are more likely to have negative effects on their neurological development. However, these strategies apply to people of all ages if there is potential for a TBI.