Surveillance of Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Because traumatic brain injury (TBI) is among the most disabling of injuries, it is frequently the focus of routine national and state-based surveillance and epidemiologic studies. In response to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, TBI surveillance and research efforts have expanded beyond civilians to include military personnel injured in combat. Additionally, recognition of the potential for less severe TBIs to affect function has contributed to an increase in epidemiologic studies of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), particularly those resulting from sports. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize methods for epidemiologic research on TBI at all levels of severity, including an overview of case definitions, key measures, data sources, and examples of relevant published studies. Because the case definitions and data sources for studies of civilians and military personnel differ, the methods for these populations are presented separately.