March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and this year, CDC will again support the Brain Injury Association of America’s “Living with Brain Injury” campaign. The goals of this three-year campaign are to improve the lives of individuals living with brain injury, their families and caregivers, and to raise awareness about brain injuries nationwide.

This year’s Brain Injury Awareness Month materials include:

• Three booklets that cover topics ranging from transitioning to life after high school and overcoming loneliness to a glossary of legal and medical terms and services;
• A new tip card titled “How to Communicate with an Adult after Brain Injury;”
• CDC’s “Facts about Traumatic Brain Injury” fact sheet; and
• The “Brain Injury Awareness Activity Guide” that provides practical, easy-to-use information on how to initiate and create brain injury awareness activities and events.

Every year about 1.4 million people in this country sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Overall, about 5.3 million Americans currently have a TBI and need long-term or lifelong help to perform daily activities. A TBI is caused by a blow or jolt to the head that can range from mild to severe and can disrupt the way the brain normally works. 

To learn more about CDC’s research and efforts to reduce TBIs, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/node.do?id=0900f3ec8000dbdc.   

To order or download Brain Injury Awareness Month materials or for more information about Brain Injury Awareness Month, please visit the Brain Injury Association of America’s website at http://www.biausa.org/Pages/biam2006.htm, or call their Family Helpline at 1-800-444-6443.