Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

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    Together we can build a better future for Manitobans whose lives are impacted by brain injury.
    (2024-08-21) Engel, Lisa; Daun, Meredith; Bramadat, Janine; Cohen, Lisa; Plett-Hoffman, Kevin; Louis, Michelle; Thomas, Karen; Walters, Kerri; Karpa, Jane; Russell, Kelly; Brown, Jaime; Plett, Patricia; Chigbo, Ugonna
    Acquired brain injury (ABI) is one of the largest diagnostic groups and leading causes of disability around the world, including in Manitoba. Brain injury can affect any area of a person’s functioning, including cognitive/thinking, emotional/mental health, physical, immunological, and behavioral functioning. Due to the widespread effects, ABI can also then change any area of life including family life, housing, employment, leisure transportation, and community participation, with changes often lasting a long time and for many are lifelong changes. These long-term challenges are strongly associated with many detrimental consequences, especially when needs are not met. This includes high rates of homelessness and secondary health concerns. Thus, changes after ABI can create challenging situations for not only the person but also for their families, close others, and communities. Of concern to all citizens, these unmet needs after ABI are costly and have negative effects not just on those directly impacted by ABI, but to all society. In Manitoba people living with ABI, their families, and their close others have many unmet needs directly related to ABI. Brain injury supports and services are chronically underfunded to meet the immediate and long-term needs of ABI-survivors (those living with brain injury), and since the COIVD-19 pandemic ABI supports and services have declines. Of great concern, there lacks a strategy in Manitoba of how to meet the needs of people affected by ABI. While in Canada a bill is progressing through the federal government (i.e., Bill C-277: A national strategy on brain injury), we do not have information on what an effective strategy for brain injury in Manitoba should be. Therefore, we developed the Brain Injury in Manitoba (BIMb) project, and to do this project we formed a diverse and multi-disciplinary project team of people with lived, work, and research-related ABI experience. The goal of the BIMb project is to develop a unified understanding, focus, and recommendations for innovative action, research, advocacy, and policy change that will improve the supports, services, and the quality of life of Manitobans living with ABI. We have addressed our project goal in the Winnipeg region, which was Phase 1 of the BIMb project and is the focus of this report.