Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern; 1.5 million people dying yearly, causing suffering, and imposing burdens, on individuals, families and societies. The burden of TBI in Ireland is unknown, but many patients have neither adequate nor timely access to rehabilitation.
Aims:-
to document current pathways to care, including rehabilitation, in Ireland and compare these with best practices;
to describe the incidence, patterns of injury, and disability, and rehabilitation needs, from TBI, using the newly standardized Common Data Elements;
to assess the burden on health services, wider society, patients, and their carers/family;
to describe the severity and circumstances, and identify risk factors for TBIs;
to translate the research findings into a workable Knowledge Translation Plan, including the needs for rehabilitation services, for use by all TBI stakeholders.
We will use existing routine data: Major Trauma Audit (MTA), discharge data from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) system, the National Physical and Sensory Disability Database (NPSDD), Central Statistics Office (CSO) deaths, to identify the scale of TBI in Ireland, and service use and needs.
We will use existing routine data (MTA and NPSDD) and review the records of patients with TBI in hospital and elsewhere, to document service use, rehabilitation needs, and care pathways.
We will survey a stratified sample, of survivors from hospitals, to examine how their injury has affected their life, and their rehabilitation trajectory. We will also study the impact on their carers or families using the Zarit Burden Interview.
We will use the service provider record data and the survey to document TBI severity. We will use existing routine data, service provider record data and the survey data to document the circumstances of injury.
Our work will enhance scientific knowledge about TBI care, and support service planning and improvement.
