Head Injury Symposium

Head injuries have been in the news throughout 2023. What is new and where are we going with research and practice? Join us at this year’s AIPN AGM Symposium to learn the latest on the topic. The Symposium will follow the conclusion of the AGM at approximately 2.30pm AEDT.

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Head injuries 2020-2021 | Dr Heather Swanston, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Every four minutes, someone in Australia is hospitalised for a head injury. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report presents data on 2020–21 emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and deaths due to injuries to the head including injuries to the eye and orbit, traumatic brain injury and concussion. It describes the main types and causes of injury, variation among specific populations, and the severity of head injuries compared with all injuries. Additionally, the report presents a ten-year time series to assess trends.

Brain Health Research Program | A/Prof Andrew Gardner,  University of Sydney

The Former Athletes’ Brain Health Research Program is a prospective, longitudinal study designed to evaluate the brain health of former athletes. The program is designed to examine exposure to: (i) sport; (ii) concussion; and (iii) brain health risk factors, through clinical interview, health questionnaires, cognitive testing, neuroimaging, blood samples, and a combination of eye, vestibular, and somatosensory testing. The program was set up in 2012 and has been operational for 11 years; 10 years at the University of Newcastle, 1 year and continuing at the University of Sydney. The program fills a much-needed gap to holistically evaluate the role an athletic career and lifestyle, and exposure to repetitive head trauma through sport-related concussion may have on later in life health outcomes and dementia risk.

Healing Right Way | Professor Beth Armstrong, Edith Cowan University

The Healing Right Way project (NHMRC 2017-2023) was a stepped-wedge cluster randomised-control-trial that recruited Aboriginal adults>18 years hospitalised for stroke or TBI across four metropolitan and four regional hospitals in Western Australia. The aim was to test the impact of a culturally-secure intervention model for Aboriginal people with brain injury. The primary outcome measure was quality of life at 6 months post injury, with secondary outcomes including level of disability, depression and anxiety, and amount and quality of services received. The intervention was two-pronged and consisted of cultural security training for hospital staff and an Aboriginal Brain Injury Coordinator service supporting participants/families for 26 weeks post-injury.

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Those attending the AGM do not need to register separately.