Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine are enlisting clinicians, patients, caregivers, and schools to help evaluate Emory’s own TBI Evaluation and Management (TEaM) Toolkit, with the intention of rolling it out to health systems ultimately. The toolkit was devised to boost recovery in children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The aim of the Emory study will be to show that validated “clinical practice and education for patients, caregivers, clinical providers and schools is feasible and will promote recovery following mTBI in children and adolescents who present to emergency departments, urgent care facilities and primary care practices.”
The TEaM Toolkit leverages electronic medical record systems and a targeted training program to improve screening, management, and linkage throughout the diagnosis and treatment continuum. The Emory project got a boost from a $550,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to CDC data, around 640,000 children 14 years of age and younger visit emergency rooms related to traumatic brain injury; more than 80% of those injuries are classified as mTBI. JUCM featured an original article on patients with sports-related concussions, including among children and adolescents, in an article entitled Concussion Management in Urgent care: A Primary for Implementation. Read it here.