"Gender matters": the development of infographics to raise awareness and promote gender-transformative care in traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: To develop a series of infographics providing persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their circle of care with evidence-based information on sex and gender topics in TBI.

Materials And Methods: We employed an iterative participatory design engaging knowledge users, scientists, and experts in brain injury and patient education. To inform infographic content, we conducted an information needs assessment with knowledge users through semi-structured interviews and referred to our previously published evidence syntheses on TBI topics.

Rehabilitation and violence-related traumatic brain injury: A scoping review.

Objectives: There is a dearth of reviews exploring rehabilitation for violence-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) despite its increasing rates and distinct risk factors and outcomes. The aim of this scoping review is to determine the extent to which rehabilitation is available to and accessed by people who sustain TBI from interpersonal violence.

Method: Electronic databases (i.

Sex differences in work-related traumatic brain injury: a concurrent mixed methods study employing the person-environment-occupation model.

Background: Work-related traumatic brain injury (wrTBI) is considered a critical injury that can be prevented. Few studies have integrated clinical data and workers' injury narratives to inform sex-specific wrTBI prevention.

Objective: To examine sex differences in pre-injury factors and provide recommendations for primary prevention of wrTBI.

"Using the right tools and addressing the right issue": A qualitative exploration to support better care for intimate partner violence, brain injury, and mental health.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health crisis. Often repetitive and occurring over prolonged periods of time, IPV puts survivors at high risk of brain injury (BI). Mental health concerns are highly prevalent both among individuals who have experienced IPV and those who have experienced BI, yet the interrelatedness and complexity of these three challenges when experienced together is poorly understood.

"A whole ball of all-togetherness": The interwoven experiences of intimate partner violence, brain injury, and mental health.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health crisis, with physical violence leaving IPV survivors at high risk of brain injury (BI). Both BI and IPV have significant physical, psychological, cognitive, and social impacts, including a high risk of mental health concerns, yet there is limited exploration of IPV survivors' experiences with BI and mental health. This study aimed to explore the BI- and mental health-related needs and experiences of IPV survivors from the perspectives of survivors and service providers with the objective of developing knowledge translation materials to raise awareness and support survivors and service providers in addressing these concerns.

Equity considerations in clinical practice guidelines for traumatic brain injury and the criminal justice system: A systematic review.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is disproportionately prevalent among individuals who intersect or are involved with the criminal justice system (CJS). In the absence of appropriate care, TBI-related impairments, intersecting social determinants of health, and the lack of TBI awareness in CJS settings can lead to lengthened sentences, serious disciplinary charges, and recidivism. However, evidence suggests that most clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) overlook equity and consequently, the needs of disadvantaged groups.

Community Integration Challenges of Men and Women After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Lived Experiences Through a Gender Lens.

Objective: To investigate community integration (CI) challenges following traumatic brain injury (TBI) through a gender lens.

Setting: Rehabilitation research-teaching hospital.

Participants: Adult participants (22 men and 20 women) with a primary diagnosis of mild or moderate-severe TBI, in the acute or chronic stages after injury, were recruited using purposive sampling.

"If you do not have Black futures in mind…then what's guiding the steps": anti-racist recommendations for traumatic brain injury rehabilitations' investments in hopeful Black futures.

Purpose: The need for specialized rehabilitation considerations to address racial health disparities and optimize functional outcomes such as participation in daily life for Black people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been acknowledged. This study uses anti-racism as an entry point for addressing institutional racism by examining what the experiences of Black survivors of TBI, rehabilitation providers, and family caregivers tell us about imagined possibilities for rehabilitation to promote Black futures.

Material And Methods: A constructivist-informed narrative inquiry using critical race theory and in-depth narrative interviewing was applied across ten women and four men.

A framework of research priorities in COVID rehabilitation from the Rehabilitation Science Research Network for COVID: an international consultation involving qualitative and quantitative research.

Purpose: To identify research priorities related to COVID rehabilitation from the perspectives of persons with lived experiences, clinicians, researchers, community organization and policy representatives.

Materials & Methods: We conducted five international consultations to identify key issues and research priorities in COVID rehabilitation using (i) web-based questionnaires, (ii) synchronous discussions, and (iii) content analysis of COVID rehabilitation research conference presentations. We collated responses and notes and then analyzed data using content analytical techniques.

"Somewhere along the line, your mask isn't going to be fitting right": institutional racism in Black narratives of traumatic brain injury rehabilitation across the practice continuum.

Background: Over two decades of research about traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation emphasized the persistence of racial health disparities in functional outcomes that disproportionately impact Black populations without naming or addressing racism as the root problem. Further, the experiences of Black people with TBI have yet to be documented and accounted for in scientific scholarship from the perspectives of Black persons in Canada.

Purpose: This study intended to examine the rehabilitation narratives of Black TBI survivors, family caregivers, and rehabilitation providers and use critical race theory as a conceptual framework to understand how anti-Black racism manifests in those experiences.

A PROGRESS-driven approach to cognitive outcomes after traumatic brain injury: A study protocol for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion through knowledge synthesis and mobilization.

Evidence syntheses for advancing equitable traumatic brain injury (TBI) research, policy, and practice presents formidable challenges. Research and clinical frameworks are currently not specific to equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations, despite evidence that persons with TBI live in societies in which power imbalances and systems of social dominance may privilege some people and marginalize others. The present protocol outlines a strategy for a research program, supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, that explores the integration of PROGRESS-Plus parameters in research with the goal of advancing open-science databases and tools to improve our understanding of equity in cognitive and brain health outcomes in TBI.

Mapping the institutionalization of racism in the research about race and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: implications for Black populations.

Purpose: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a chronic disease process and a public health concern that disproportionately impacts Black populations. While there is an abundance of literature on race and TBI outcomes, there is a lack of scholarship that addresses racism within rehabilitation care, and it remains untheorized. This article aims to illuminate how racism becomes institutionalized in the scientific scholarship that can potentially inform rehabilitation care for persons with TBI and what the implications are, particularly for Black populations.

Mental Illness in the 2 Years Prior to Pregnancy in a Population With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study: La maladie mentale dans les deux ans précédant une grossesse dans une population souffrant de lésion cérébrale traumatique : une étude transversale.

Objective: Existing studies, in mostly male samples such as veterans and athletes, show a strong association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental illness. Yet, while an understanding of mental health before pregnancy is critical for informing preconception and perinatal supports, there are no data on the prevalence of active mental illness before pregnancy in females with TBI. We examined the prevalence of active mental illness ≤2 years before pregnancy (1) in a population with TBI, and (2) in subgroups defined by sociodemographic, health, and injury-related characteristics, all compared to those without TBI.

Efficacy of restitutive interventions for oculomotor deficits in adults with mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can cause persistent symptoms suggestive of oculomotor deficits. This research synthesized evidence on restitutive interventions for reducing oculomotor deficits in adults with mTBI to understand if these interventions have clinical utility for improving recovery.

Methods: Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL, PsychInfo, and Scopus, databases were searched for experimental studies published in English.

Work-related and non-work-related mild traumatic brain injury: Associations with mental health and substance use challenges in a Canadian population-level survey.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can profoundly impact overall health, employment, and family life. Incidence of mTBI in the workplace represents an important subgroup with poorer outcomes. Mental health (MH) and substance use (SU) challenges are a primary correlate of TBI, but are rarely assessed among individuals with a work-related (wr)-mTBI, particularly at a population-level.

Integrating unsupervised and supervised learning techniques to predict traumatic brain injury: A population-based study.

This work aimed to identify pre-existing health conditions of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and develop predictive models for the first TBI event and its external causes by employing a combination of unsupervised and supervised learning algorithms. We acquired up to five years of pre-injury diagnoses for 488,107 patients with TBI and 488,107 matched control patients who entered the emergency department or acute care hospitals between April 1st, 2002, and March 31st, 2020. Diagnoses were obtained from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) database which contains province-wide claims data by physicians in Ontario, Canada for inpatient and outpatient services.

Gender versus sex in predicting outcomes of traumatic brain injury: a cohort study utilizing large administrative databases.

Understanding the factors associated with elevated risks and adverse consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an integral part of developing preventive measures for TBI. Brain injury outcomes differ based on one's sex (biological characteristics) and gender (social characteristics reflecting norms and relationships), however, whether it is sex or gender that drives differences in early (30-day) mortality and discharge location post-TBI is not well understood. In the absence of a gender variable in existing data, we developed a method for "measuring gender" in 276,812 residents of Ontario, Canada who entered the emergency department and acute care hospitals with a TBI diagnostic code between April 1st, 2002, and March 31st, 2020.

Exploring the Relationships Between Rehabilitation and Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health crisis affecting one in three women and one in ten men in their lifetimes. Rehabilitation professionals are highly likely to encounter survivors of IPV in their practice; yet, there exists no formal review assessing the relationship between IPV and rehabilitation. Our objective was to understand the types and contexts of rehabilitation care currently available for survivors of IPV, opportunities identified in the literature for rehabilitation care, and IPV awareness and education among rehabilitation providers.

Rehabilitation interventions for oculomotor deficits in adults with mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the most common form of TBI with many individuals suffering from symptoms suggestive of deficits in oculomotor function. Although the symptoms are often experienced transiently, almost 50% of individuals will experience persistent symptoms. Oculomotor deficits can last months after injury and decrease function and the ability to participate in work, school and sport.

Equity considerations in clinical practice guidelines for traumatic brain injury and homelessness: a systematic review.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) predominantly prioritise treatment and cost-effectiveness, which encourages a universal approach that may not address the circumstances of disadvantaged groups. We aimed to advance equity and quality of care for individuals experiencing homelessness and traumatic brain injury (TBI) by assessing the extent to which homelessness and TBI are integrated in CPGs for TBI and CPGs for homelessness, respectively, and the extent to which equity, including consideration of disadvantaged populations and the PROGRESS-Plus framework, is considered in these CPGs.

Methods: For this systematic review, CPGs for TBI or homelessness were identified from electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO), targeted websites, Google Search, and reference lists of eligible CPGs on November 16, 2021 and March 16, 2023.

The effect of sleep disorders on dementia risk in patients with traumatic brain injury: A large-scale cohort study.

Introduction: We investigated the association between sleep disorders (SDs) and incident dementia in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Adults with a TBI between 2003 and 2013 were followed until incident dementia. Sleep disorders at TBI were predictors in Cox regression models, controlling for other dementia risks.

An educational intervention to promote a culture of gender equity among persons with traumatic brain injury and caregivers: A pilot study.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes are dependent on patients' biological sex (e.g., hormone levels) and sociocultural gender (e.

Exploring a peer-based physical activity program in the community for adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To explore the experiences of program mentors, participants, and employees involved in a peer-based physical activity (PA) program for adults with moderate-to-severe TBI, being piloted by a community fitness center, to develop the program as a measurable intervention.

Research Design: We adopted an exploratory case study approach through an interpretivist paradigm, which focused on discovering realities about the peer-based PA program across the study participants' views, backgrounds, and experiences.

Methods And Procedures: Semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with nine adult program participants (3 peer mentors, 6 participants), and three program employees.

Sex and Gender Reporting in Rehabilitation Research: A Commentary.

Although many funding agencies have mandated sex and gender considerations in grant proposals, the integration of these considerations may not be consistently integrated in the reporting phase. Increasingly more journals are however mandating requirements in the process of peer review and reporting. This commentary provides a rationale, context, and resources for authors in the rehabilitation field regarding sex and gender considerations in scientific reporting to ultimately aim to improve science and equity in our research.

Gender versus sex in predicting outcomes of traumatic brain injury: A cohort study utilizing large administrative databases.

Understanding the factors associated with elevated risks and adverse consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an integral part of developing preventive measures for TBI. Brain injury outcomes differ based on one's sex (biological characteristics) and gender (social characteristics reflecting norms and relationships), however, whether it is sex or gender that drives differences in early (30-day) mortality and discharge location post-TBI event are unknown. In the absence of gender variable in existing data, we developed a method for "measuring gender" in 276,812 residents of Ontario, Canada who entered the emergency department and acute care hospitals with a TBI diagnostic code between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2020.