Disability Outcomes and
Prevention
Disability Facts
- An estimated 34 to 43
million people in the United States have chronic disabilities.
- Traffic crashes,
violence, and falls are the leading causes of traumatic brain and
spinal cord injuries, which are two of the most severe disabling
injury conditions.
- Rehabilitation services
are not available consistently throughout the U.S., and they are
not financially accessible to everyone.
To help learn more about disability outcomes, CDC's Injury Center is working with other organizations to find answers to these and other questions about
traumatic brain injury (TBI):
- How many people sustain traumatic brain injury each year?
- What happens to traumatic brain injury survivors?
- Are less severe brain injuries being missed?
Current estimates suggest that each year
- 50,000 Americans die with traumatic brain injury.1
- 230,000 Americans are hospitalized and survive these injuries.1
- Nearly 1,000,000 seek emergency care for a TBI.1
- 80,000 to 90,000 people sustain TBI resulting in permanent disability.1
- $37 billion in direct and indirect costs are associated with TBI.2
We need better and more complete information on the incidence and impact of
TBI.
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Outcomes
of TBI
Outcomes of TBI: The Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Registry & Follow-up System
In
1995, CDC funded an extensive follow-up study in Colorado to describe TBI-related
disability, use of services and other outcomes. Preliminary findings from the study
suggest that, one-year after injury, among TBI survivors aged 16 years or older,
- Approximately 30 percent of those hospitalized with TBI report some level of disability
- Only half of those previously employed were still working
- Only 12 percent of those in school at the time of injury remained in school
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Linking
Brain Injury Survivors to Services
Colorado
State University and the University of South Carolina are researching
ways to link people with TBI to information that can help them get the
services they need. Preliminary findings released in 2000 indicate
that 1 in 3 people with reported disability received no services after
discharge from the
hospital. The findings of these projects will shape recommendations
for state policies to improve access to available services.
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Expanding the
Knowledge Base
The topic areas for research proposals vary.
For example, in the past the
emphasis was on proposals for community-based research to prevent the occurrence and
reduce the severity of disability or other adverse outcomes among people with TBI or SCI.
Examples of TBI-related extramural research projects
that have been funded at some point nclude:
- Preventing Alcohol Abuse After TBI
- Case Management for TBI Survivors with Alcohol Problems
- Depression After Mild to Moderate TBI
- Youth Prevention Programs
for TBI and SCI
Further information about TBI-related extramural research opportunities can be
obtained from the Research Grants and Funding
Opportunities page on the NCIPC website.
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Brochure
for People with Mild to Moderate TBI
The Division of Injury and
Disability Outcomes and Programs of CDC's Injury Center has coordinated
the development of an informational brochure, Facts about Concussion and Brain Injury,
for people with mild to
moderate traumatic brain injury. The brochure, which includes information on potential
symptoms of brain injury and resources for help, was designed with input from people with
brain injury and their families, health care professionals, and the Brain Injury
Association. Space on the brochure is reserved so that individual agencies can add
information on local resources. Copies of the brochure will soon be available for
distribution through emergency departments, physicians' offices, and other settings
nationwide. The brochure is
also available on the web.
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References
1. Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: A Report to Congress. Atlanta: Centers
for Disease Control, 1998.
2. Max W, MacKenzie EJ, Rice DP. Head injuries: costs and consequences. J Head Trauma
Rehabil 1991;6:76-91.
3. Thurman DJ, Sniezek JE, Johnson D, et al. Guidelines for Surveillance of Central
Nervous System Injury. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1995.
Selected Traumatic Brain
Injury References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Traumatic Brain Injury--Colorado, Missouri,
Oklahoma, and Utah, 1990-93. MMWR 1997; 46(1):8-11.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sports-related recurrent brain
injuries--United States. MMWR, 1997; 46(10):224-227.
Sosin DM, Sniezek JE, Waxweiler RJ. Trends in death associated with traumatic brain
injury, 1979 through 1992. JAMA 1995;273:1778B80.
Sosin DM, Sachs JJ, Smith SM. Head injury-associated deaths in the United States from
1979B1986. JAMA 1989;262:2251B5.
Sosin DM, Nelson DE, Sacks JJ. Head injury deaths: the enormity of firearms. JAMA
1992;268:791 (letter).
Sosin DM, Sniezek JE, Thurman DJ. Incidence of mild and moderate brain injury in the
United States, 1991. Brain Injury 1996;10:47B54.
Thurman DJ, Branche CM, Sniezek JE. The epidemiology of sports-related traumatic brain
injuries in the United States: recent developments. J Head Trauma Rehab 1998; 13(2):1-8.
Thurman DJ, Sniezek JE, Johnson D, et al. Guidelines for Surveillance of Central
Nervous System Injury. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1995.
Gabella B, Hoffman RE, Marine WW, Stallones L. Urban and rural brain injuries in
Colorado. Ann Epidemiol 1997;7:207-212.
Thurman DJ, Jeppson L, Burnett CL, Beaudoin DE, Rheinberger MM, Sniezek JE.
Surveillance of traumatic brain injuries in Utah. Western J Med 1996;164:192-196.
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