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BIAA Hopes to ‘Change Your Mind’ About Brain Injuries

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March is Brain Injury Awareness Month in the United States. According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), at least 5.3 million Americans live with a disability related to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and with 280,000 attributable hospitalizations and 2.2 million emergency room treatments, the economic cost exceeds $82 billion annually. Furthermore, a staggering 137 people die in the U.S. daily because of TBI-related injuries.

Workers in the construction industry experience a large number of occupational brain injuries, with falls being a major driver. Though the direct link between falls and brain injuries is highly suggestive, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that fatalities caused by preventable falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 366 of the 971 construction fatalities recorded in 2017.

According to the BIAA, falls are the leading driver of TBI-related injuries (40.5%), followed by being struck by or against an object (15.5%) and motor vehicle accidents (14.3%).

But there are preventative steps that employers and workers can take to reduce the risk of brain injuries, and BIAA is spreading the word in advance of Brain Injury Awareness Day on March 13 with its Change Your Mind campaign.

“Any employee may slip and fall in the workplace, or something may fall from a shelf and strike an office employee,” Susan H. Connors, BIAA president and CEO told Risk Management Monitor. “Employers should take precautions such as ensuring adequate lighting, moving heavy items to bottom shelves, maintaining handrails in stairs, taping down rugs, even/dry flooring, and making sure steps are brightly marked.”

The day will be marked on Capitol Hill, where a Congressional Brain Injury Task Force will meet to coordinate and support federal resources, grow the force and bolster research. Connors said that as in years past, there will be an awareness fair, congressional briefing, and reception, but employers who cannot attend can still take part by:

  • Contacting their Congressional representative to join the task force.
  • Plan to host an event in March to increase awareness and understanding about brain injury, to remember someone lost to brain injury, or even to celebrate a loved one’s recovery.
  • Download the #ChangeYourMind collateral and distribute among your organization and use the stamp to raise awareness, advocacy, or funds for a brain injury-related cause.

“Identifying, implementing, and enforcing safety or risk management protocol is essential and effective regardless of the industry,” Connors said. “The programs in place likely vary based on the position, but common trends may be requiring safety harnesses, protective wear, regular breaks, and/or safety audits or assessments by more than one (or even two) employees on infrastructure.”

Brain injuries are often causes of depression and even suicidal tendencies, which is why Connors said the BIAA actively works to act as a resource for victims.

“The most dangerous and prone cases are those with a mild brain injury, like concussions, who do not receive treatment and/or do not understand why they are feeling depressed and alone,” Connors said. “Suicidal behavior is enhanced by the presence of depression, impulsivity, hopelessness and chronic pain in the face of TBI.

Providing a more compassionate and user-friendly service delivery model of care to ensure timely care and individualized treatment reduces needless frustration and risk.”

Connors added that BIAA’s National Brain Injury Information Center (NBIIC) is also a resource staffed by brain injury specialists, and the Suicide Prevention hotline is available around the clock for people having thoughts of hurting themselves.

Information on Brain Injury Awareness Month, including educational material and downloadable collateral, is available at www.biausa.org/ChangeYourMind.

NFL Admits Game’s Link to Concussion Risk

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After years of denying that the game of football could have caused degenerative brain disease in some players, the National Football League has finally admitted there is a link connecting the game to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). According to the New York Times:

Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois, asked during a round-table discussion about concussions whether “there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE,”

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety policy, said, “The answer to that is certainly, yes.” His response signaled a stunning about-face for the league, which has been accused by former players and independent experts of hiding the dangers of head injuries for decades.

Miller’s comments were backed the next day by league spokesperson Brian McCarthy. Miller’s answer may actually help the NFL, as “It could make it harder in the future for a player to accuse the league of concealing the dangers of the sport,” the Times said.

“Strategically, the NFL’s admission makes a world of sense,” Jeffrey A. Standen, dean of the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, told the Times. “The league has paid a settlement to close all the claims previous to 2015. For future sufferers, the NFL has now effectively put them on notice that their decision to play professional football comes with the acknowledged risk of degenerative brain disease.”

While CTE has been found in former players, the NFL has for decades denied the danger, even after researchers with Boston University announced in 2014 that, in autopsies of 79 brains of former NFL players, 76 tested positive for CTE. A report in 2003 by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina found a connection between concussions and depression among former professional football players.

According to a 2007 UNC study, Recurrent Concussion and Risk of Depression in Retired Professional Football Players:

Our observed threefold prevalence ratio for retired players with three or more concussions is daunting, given that depression is typically characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities, decreased energy, and loss of confidence and self-esteem. These findings call into question how effectively retired professional football players with a history of three or more concussions are able to meet the mental and physical demands of life after playing professional football.

The NFL has directed millions of dollars to research of CTE and head trauma and it gave $45 million to USA Football to promote safe tackling and reassure parents that football’s risks can be mitigated through on-field techniques and awareness, the Times said.