Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, and Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, (UW professor of Rehabilitation Medicine) received $12.7 million from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, to conduct new research on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Each year, about 3.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States, and at least 25 percent of these injuries are classified as moderate to severe. Nearly half of those hospitalized for TBI have long-term disability. Outcomes are affected by the type and severity of the TBI, but the timing and type of treatment someone with TBI receives is also important.

Inpatient rehabilitation professionals are currently told to give people with TBI information, reassurance, advice, and referral resources. Some promising ways of further helping people with TBI include using telephone and other mobile devices to reach out to patients after they leave the hospital, regularly assessing their individual needs and helping them coordinate their health care, and providing the information and resources that patients need. These strategies may lead to earlier return to activities and improved quality of life. This new study will compare the standard approach to discharge care with an approach that uses telecare delivered by a care manager to provide information and care coordination after discharge. Functioning and quality of life over a 12-month period will be compared among people randomized to the two groups.

Congratulations Dr. Fann!