Brain Injury and Older Adults

A Product of the Maryland Traumatic Brain Injury Partnership Implementation

Project

2006-2009

Agenda

• The incidence and prevalence of TBI

• What is brain injury?

• What are the types of brain injury?

• Brain Injury and Older Adults

Incidence of TBI CDC 2007

In the United States, at least

1.6 million sustain a TBI each year

Of Those 1.6 Million CDC2007

• 51,000 die;

• 290,000 are hospitalized; and

• 1,224,000 million are treated an released from an emergency department

Annual Incidence of TBI with Disability

AN ESTIMATED 124,000 American civilians

Cited by Jean Langlois ScD,MPH NASHIA Conference 2007

Preliminary findings as analyzed by Selassie, et. al

Causes of TBI CDC 2006

Falls, 28%

Motor Vehicle-Traffic, 20%

Struck By/Against, 19%

Assault, 11%

Unknown, 9%

Other, 7%

Pedal Cycle (non MV), 3%

Suicide, 1%

Other Transport, 2%

Adults age 75 years or older have the highest rates of

TBI related hospitalization and death CDC 2004

In 2000, TBI Accounted for 46% of fatal falls among

older adults (Stevens et. al. 2006)

CDC Website 2007

Types of TBI• Distribution of Severity:

– Mild injuries = 80% (LOC < 30 min, PTA ,1 hour)

– Moderate = 10 - 13% (LOC 30 min-24 hours, PTA 1-24 hours)

– Severe = 7 - 10% (LOC >24 hours, PTA >24 hours)

The HELPS Brain Injury Screening Tool

(see handout)

The original HELPS tool developed by M. Picard, D. Scarisbrick, R. Paluck, 9.1991

Updated by the Michigan Department of Community Health

HELPS• Have you ever Hit your Head or

been Hit on the Head?

• Prompt individual to think about; TBI at any age, MVAs. Assaults, Sports injuries, Service related injuries, Shaken baby and/or adult

HELPS• Were you ever seen in the

Emergency room, hospital, or by a doctor because of an injury to your head?

• Explore the possibility of “unidentified traumatic brain injury” many do not present in medical settings

HELPS• Did you ever Lose consciousness or

experience a period of being dazed and confused because of an injury to your head?

• Remember, a LOC isn’t required for someone to develop symptoms subsequent to a blow to the head. “alteration of consciousness” AKA post traumatic amnesia (PTA). At this point, the interviewer may consider asking the individual if they have had multiple mild TBI

HELPS• Do you experience any of these Problems in

your daily life since you hit your head?• You want to know when any problems began

(or began to be noticed) Remember, lack of awareness is a hallmark of brain injury, you might ask if anyone close to the individual has made any observations regarding changes in function.

HELPS• Headaches• Dizziness• Anxiety• Depression• Difficulty

concentrating• Difficulty

remembering

• Difficulty reading, writing, calculating

• Poor problem solving

• Difficulty performing your job/school work

• poor judgement (being fired from job, arrests, fights, relationships affected)

HELPS• Any significant Sickness?• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) can result in many

of the same functional impairments as traumatic brain injury (TBI). For example, brain tumor, meningitis, West Nile virus, stroke, seizures, toxic shock syndrome, aneurysm, AV malformation, any history of anoxic injury, e.g. heart attack, near drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning can all result in multiple deficits

Scoring the HELPS Positive for a possible Brain Injury when the

following three are identified:

• An event the could have caused a brain injury (YES to H, E, or S), and

• A period of loss of consciousness or altered consciousness after the injury or another indication that the injury was severe (YES to L or E), and

• the presence of 2 or more chronic problems listed under P that were not present before the injury.

Scoring the HELPS

• A positive screening is not sufficient to diagnose TBI as the reason for current symptoms and difficulties-other possible possible reasons need to be ruled out

• Some individuals could present exceptions to the screening results, such as people who do have TBI-related problems but answered “no” to some questions

• Consider positive responses within the context of the person’s self-report and documentation of altered behavioral and/or cognitive functioning

Additional comments and observations of the interviewer• Any visible scars?

• Walks with a limp?

• Uses a cane or walker?

• Has a foot brace?

• Limited use of one hand?

• Appears to have difficulty focusing vision?

• Difficulty answering questions?

• Answers are unorganized and/or rambling

• Becomes easily distracted, agitated or is emotionally labile

What you are looking for…..And Why

• Any reported or suspected functional difficulties that are interfering with home, work or community activities

• With the identification a history of brain injury, professionals can better support the individuals served and make informed referrals to brain injury specialists when appropriate

Brain Injury in the News

• Veterans:

• NFL Players

• Prominent Older Americans with fall related brain injuries

Impact of Brain Injury

• Physical; balance, coordination, headaches, fatigue, visual problems

• Cognitive; memory, attention, concentration, processing, receptive and expressive language difficulties, new learning difficulties

• Emotional/Behavioral; depression, impulse control, mood swings, irritability and emotional lability

Lack of AwarenessA common and difficult to remediate

hallmark of a brain injury

Brain Injury and Alzheimer’s Disease

• Some evidence to suggest that severe brain injury is a risk factor in development of Alzheimer’s especially in individuals lacking the ApoEepsilon4 genotype( Jellinger et. al. 2001)

• An earlier study by Schofield (1997) found that subjects who had a head injury with a loss of consciousness or amnesia exceeding 5 minutes were at significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

NFL, Concussion & Alzheimer’s Disease (Guskiewicz

et. al. 2005)• 61% of the former players sustained at least

one concussion in their career• 24% sustained 3 or more concussions

• Retired players with 3 or more concussions had a fivefold prevalence of reported significant memory problems compared to players with no hx of concussion

• Researchers also observed an earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease in retirees than in general male population.

What can older adults, professionals and family

members do?Preventive measures

Screen for a history of brain injury

Strategies to support

Resource and Referral

Prevention Tips from the Centers for Disease Control• Exercise: activities that address balance

and coordination are especially helpful

• Review medicines with health care provider

• Have vision checked

• Fall proof homes and facilities

Screen for a History of Brain Injury

• Review medical records

• Take a detailed history

• Use the HELPS Screening

• Observe, does the individual have difficulty learning new routines, information, retaining names, difficulty communicating thoughts either verbally or in writing?

Strategies

• Use of a journal/calendar

• Create a daily schedule

• “To do” lists and shopping lists

• Labeling items

• Learning to break tasks into small manageable steps

• Use of a tape recorder

Strategies

• Encourage use of rest and low activity periods

• Work on accepting feedback or coaching from others

• Work on generalizing strategies to new situations

• Use of a high lighter• Alarm watch

Strategies

• Review schedule each day

• Post signs on the wall etc.

• Try to “routinize” the day as much as possible

Strategies

• Safety checklist (e.g. for use of stove)reinforces attention

• Checklists- “things to do before leaving the house” (turn off all the appliances?, lock all the doors?, did I take my morning medications? turn down the heat/turn off the air conditioner?, do I have money or keys?, where am I going?, how will I get there? What time should I leave? Etc.) Very good for routine tasks, reinforces memory

• Place visual cues in the environment (cupboard labels, written directions, calendars, list of emergency phone numbers) reinforces memory

Even for individuals with poor new learning capacity due to a brain

injury,keep in mind the three R’s Review

Rehearse&

Repeat Can lead to mastery of tasks as they

eventually enter into memory

Resource and Referral Information

Resource Coordination in Maryland

• Charlotte Wisner, Resource Coordinator for Frederick & Washington Counties, call 301-682-6017

• Lauren Dorsey, Resource Coordinator for Baltimore & Howard Counties, call 301-529-1508

• Catherine Reinhart, Resource Coordinator for Montgomery County, call 301-586-0900

• Any questions regarding resource coordination or free trainings for professionals regarding brain injury, call Anastasia Edmonston, Project Director 410-402-8478

Resources• Brain Injury Association of America 703-236-

6000, www.biausa.org• Brain Injury Association of Maryland 410-448-

2924, www.biamd.org• Ohio Valley Center For Brain Injury

Prevention and Rehabilitation, 614-293-3802, www.ohiovalley.org.

• www.headinjury.com. Good resource for memory aides and tips

Resources• Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov/injury. 770-

488-1506• Http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu/ National Resource

Center for Traumatic Brain Injury, developed by the Medical College of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. Offers useful articles that are very user friendly, and a catalogue of nicely priced resources for working with people with brain injury

Resources• The University of Alabama Traumatic Brain Injury Model

System has created the UAB Home Stimulation Program. This program offers many activities for use by individuals with brain injuries, their families and the professionals who work with them. The activities are designed to help support cognitive skills and can be done in the home setting. The Home Stimulation Program can be accessed from the Internet at htt://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=49377. For further information contact: Research Services, Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 619 19th St. S SRC 529, Birmingham, AL 35249-7330/ 206-934-3283. Tbi@uab.edu.

Resources staff training….

• http://www.webaim.org/simulations/cognitive - this is a site that can be used in staff training. It is a simulation of the effects of cognitive disabilities. You will be asked to complete simple tasks, but other tasks will get in the way.

Resources staff training….

• http://www.biausa.org/Pages/related_articles.html - links to many online articles, written not for professionals in the field, but for people learning about brain injury. They cover all types of topics, from substance abuse and brain injury to cognition and brain injury. Written by various experts in the brain injury field.

• Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) Training offered through the American Academy for the Certification of Brain Injury Specialists, www.biausa.org

The Michigan Department of Community Health

Web-Based Brain Injury Training for Professionals

www.mitbitraining.orgThis free training consists of 4 module that

take an estimated 30 minutes each to complete. The purpose of the training is

twofold, to “ensure service providers understand the range of outcomes” following

brain injury and to “improve the ability of service providers to identify and deliver

appropriate services for persons with TBI”

Anastasia EdmonstonTBI Projects Director

Mental Hygiene Administration

Aedmonston@dhmh.state.md.us

410-402-8478

A Product of the Maryland TBI Partnership Implementation Project, a

collaborative effort between the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration, the

Mental Health Management Agency of Frederick County and the

Howard County Mental Health Authority2006-2009

Support is provided in part by project H21MC06759 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (title V, Social

Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human

Service

Please use and distribute widely