Source: psychiatrictimes.com | Repost Duerson Fund – 5/4/2022 –
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, there are more than 5 million children and adults who live with a permanent brain injury-related disability, and at least 2.8 million individuals in the US sustain a traumatic brain injury every year. To help bring attention to what can be a preventable disability, and to focus on ways to support patients with brain injury, March is commemorated as Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Psychiatric TimesTM invited Matthew J. Ashley, MD, JD, to discuss some of the overlap between brain injuries and psychiatric symptomology and illness.
Psychiatric TimesTM: What should psychiatrists be aware of to better help their patients prevent brain injury?
Matthew J. Ashley, MD, JD: Preventing traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a problem that would be wonderful to solve. Unfortunately, human beings are pretty poor at assigning relative risk to low probability events. I suppose the most practical advice I can offer is to pay attention to the most common situations that result in TBI and try to educate others about those risks.