Understanding the Impact Brain Injury Can Have on Community Engagement

To provide the proper medical care and rehabilitation to Ontario residents living with brain injury, it is important to have a clear understanding of how brain injury can affect patients physically and emotionally. The Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) offers a variety of educational resources, including the 2012 OBIA Impact Report, which is the culmination of data gathered from brain injury patients or their caregivers between 2009 and 2011. The report provides excellent insight into the causes and physical effects of brain injury. For example, 40 percent of the adult respondents' brain injuries were due to automobile accidents, and 14 percent of the injuries were said to be work-related. Five percent of the respondents' brain injuries resulted from sports-related incidents. It is in the best interests of all Canadians to make a concerted effort to address the causes of brain injury, including distracted or impaired driving, lack of workplace safety and sports-related concussions. The stakes are too high not to address these important issues now. Following are some of the physical and mental troubles that the Impact Report respondents said were due to their brain injury:

• 80 percent had experienced amnesia
• 95 percent had memory troubles most of the time
• 91 percent had difficulty making decisions part or most of the time
• 26 percent had problems with vision most of the time
• 20 percent experienced difficulty in hearing most of the time

The OBIA Impact Report also provides statistical information about brain injury patients' satisfaction with their ability to engage with the community. The data underscore the reality that more needs to be done:

• 28 percent of respondents said they were not satisfied with their ability to engage in community activities.
• 24 percent said they were not satisfied with their ability to be independent in the community.

In addition to providing legal representation to brain injury patients and their families, the lawyers at Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers strive to eliminate physical and social barriers between brain injury patients and the wider community. Our Events and Sponsorship Archive has more on our recent community activities. R E F E R E N C E S | http://obia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ImpactReportOnline-Dec2012.pdf