Objectives
To describe an ongoing community outreach project that provides resources, educational materials, and screening opportunities to community members and caregivers affected by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The project’s framework aims to educate communities from diverse cultural backgrounds about TBI and seeks to identify individuals with medically and non-medically documented TBI. The community outreach project is an initial step to assess the feasibility of a mixed-method study utilizing the principles of Community Based Participatory Research.
Methods
The outreach was conducted by a bilingual, bicultural research team at seven community events hosted by Community-Based Organizations and Programs in the New York City area. The team engaged community members by assessing their personal experience or knowledge of someone affected by TBI. Prospective participants confirmed if their injury was medically documented, whereas participants without medically documented TBI were screened with the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method (OSU-TBI-ID, a standardized procedure for eliciting a person’s lifetime history of TBI via a 3-5 minute structured interview) by conversation or by utilizing the OSU-TBI-ID form. The study team educated participants about TBI and provided resources to better understand and manage this condition. Participants received a list of available TBI services, including day treatment programs, vocational rehabilitation, support groups, and advocacy services. Additional referrals were provided on a case-by-case basis.
Results
Between August to October 2018, a total of 228 community members were approached presenting with the following language profile: 189 Spanish-speakers, 25 Mandarin-speakers, 12 English-speakers, and 2 Arabic-speakers. Of those, 14 community members were identified as having experienced a moderate to severe TBI (2 medically confirmed; 12 non-medically confirmed); while 8 were identified as having experienced a mild TBI.  Two community members identified as caregivers of an individual with a moderate to severe TBI (1 medically confirmed; 1 non-medically confirmed). Community members asked about the following topics as they relate to TBI: managing chronic headaches, resources for children and for the elderly, referrals to low-cost clinics and to neurologists, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration certification. Community members clearly expressed the need and interest for educational materials about TBI prevention and condition management.
Implications
These community outreach efforts demonstrate that a substantial number of individuals have non-medically confirmed TBI. Understanding the specific barriers and facilitators of individuals who were unable to, chose not to go to the hospital, or went to a hospital and were not diagnosed at the time of injury is of paramount importance to improve access to TBI services in community settings. These community outreach efforts strongly suggest that further research is needed to understand the long-term impact of TBI. Research can support the development of culturally tailored and translated educational materials and resources about TBI.

Living with Traumatic Brain Injury: Bringing Traumatic Brain Injury information and screenings to community settings