Grant: Planning Grants-Priority Announcement:Partnerships for Health System Improvement

Homelessness and poverty are among the most important social problems in Canada today. Recent studies have shown that over half of homeless people have had a traumatic brain injury during their lifetime. Experiencing a traumatic brain injury can leave a person with long-term physical, emotional and thinking-related (for example, memory and attention) problems. These problems may place a person at risk for homelessness or make it difficult for a homeless person to get back into society. However, there are very few studies describing the interrelationship between traumatic brain injury and homelessness. Moreover, there is little information about how and where symptoms of traumatic brain injury are treated in homeless individuals, if at all. The study team proposes to focus on some of these concerns, which have not been well studied to date. The team will: 1) conduct a detailed review of all the information available regarding the inter-relationship between traumatic brain injury and homelessness; 2) bring together a varied group of representatives including researchers, frontline workers with homeless individuals, doctors, nurses and other healthcare disciplines, for a one-day workshop to discuss these issues; and 3) develop several research studies to address these concerns. The team plans to prepare several articles summarizing their findings as well as a draft of recommendations for critical future work to help in the identification and treatment of traumatic brain injury. An important focus of this work will be on community-based primary healthcare settings, which are often the first points of contact for individuals with the healthcare team. The targeted long-term outcome is to reduce the life effects of traumatic brain injury in homeless people at an early stage of detection, with the goal of reducing the significant financial, societal, and individual implications of traumatic brain injury in the homeless population.