Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center

The Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center (TBINDSC) located at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, is a central resource for researchers and data collectors within the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) program. The primary purpose of the TBINDSC is to advance medical rehabilitation by increasing the rigor and efficiency of scientific efforts to longitudinally assess the experience of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The TBINDSC provides technical assistance, training, and methodological consultation to 16 TBIMS centers as they collect and analyze longitudinal data from people with TBI in their communities, and as they conduct research toward evidence-based TBI rehabilitation interventions.

Below are links to the TBIMS Presentation and TBIMS Update, which has information about the individual model systems and descriptions of the injury and followup data that are being collected.

Publications

Rosenthal Award

Mitchell Rosenthal, PhD (1949-2007), played a significant role in the development and refinement of the TBIMS National Database (NDB). He implemented initiatives to improve the quality of the data, increase the visibility and usability of the NDB, and facilitate collaborative research utilizing the NDB. Dr. Rosenthal authored or co-authored more than 20 papers that utilized data from the NDB. In recognition of his invaluable contributions to the TBIMS and the NDB, the TBIMS established the Rosenthal award in 2008 to keep Mitch’s memory alive and to inspire new generations of investigators. Each year, a committee reviews all papers that were published or e-published in the prior calendar year and rates them on 3 criteria: Importance, Technical Quality, and Writing Quality. The top ranked paper is named the Rosenthal awardee for that year.

Rosenthal Awardees

Links to other Model Systems Programs

REACT: Reactions Event Appraisals and Context in TBI

The REACT (Reactions Events Appraisals and Context in TBI) Project has a goal to gain a deeper understanding of why individuals with chronic traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often experience feelings of anger and aggression in response to events in their everyday lives. This project will investigate how people with TBIs express anger and aggression patterns over a two-week period. The study will also explore the connections between these emotional reactions and various factors such as the circumstances, their personal characteristics, their assessments of real-life situations and their methods of managing their emotions.

REACT Public Website

The Comparing Treatment Approaches to Promote Inpatient Rehabilitation Effectiveness for Traumatic Brain Injury (CARE4TBI)

CARE4TBI project is a pragmatic, stakeholder-driven observational study which aims to: 1) standardize electronic medical record (EMR) documentation of rehabilitation therapy to allow extraction for research and operations, 2) compare the effectiveness of well-defined rehabilitation approaches to improve community participation and functional independence of patients with TBI, and 3) identify patient, provider, setting and post-discharge factors that modify the effect of therapy on key outcomes. In addition to rehabilitation clinicians, persons living with TBI from the Ohio Valley Center Advisory Council will provide input on study implementation and interpretation of findings.

CARE4TBI Website

Characterization and Treatment of Chronic Pain after Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

The TBIMS Collaborative mechanism, funded by NIDILRR, has allowed us to collect more information from our TBIMS participants on their experience with chronic pain and pain treatment after moderate to severe TBI. Our goal is to learn more about how many people continue to have chronic pain over time, for those with pain or who have had pain after their injury, what treatments they have tried, and for those without chronic pain to learn more about common co-occurring conditions like sleep, mood, and quality of life to compare those with and without pain. The ultimate goal of learning more about the experience of pain after moderate to severe TBI is to improve health and function. Our goal is to collect data on 3800 individuals, but along the way we are providing a look at the data we have collected to date through the link below. We will provide an update on a quarterly basis, so please check back regularly.

Chronic Pain and TBI Public Website