Safe States Alliance Annual Conference

Disparities in Minnesota: Evidence of Effective Outreach in Resource Facilitation
Statement: TBI tends to disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) populations. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to have poor psychosocial, functional, and employment-related outcomes after sustaining a TBI than non-Hispanic white individuals. Historically, racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly non-Hispanic black and Hispanic patients, have been less likely to receive follow-up care and rehabilitation following a TBI compared to non-Hispanic white patients.
Resource facilitation (RF) is an evidence-based strategy to mitigate the effects of TBI by connecting TBI survivors with services. Using the Minnesota TBI Registry of all Minnesotans hospitalized with TBI, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) works to contact, inform, and offer RF to all TBI survivors, provided through the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance (MBIA).

Approach: Data from the MDH TBI Registry and data from the MBIA RF Program, were analyzed together, to better describe the burden of TBI by race and ethnicity, as well as describe the populations accessing RF in Minnesota.

Results: BIPOC had slightly higher rates of TBI; the disparities in BIPOC populations are not as pronounced as earlier this century. BIPOC participation in the Minnesota’s RF program was higher than was that of white population.

Significance: In Minnesota, there is evidence that RF is being delivered to the populations that might benefit the most. The MBIA has been intentional in providing culturally appropriate programming through the RF Program, and the data suggests that their efforts have been successful."

Screen and Intervene: Virginia’s Domestic Violence and Brain Injury Project
The field of literature is increasing about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and sexual/domestic violence (S/DV), but little is known about the extent of TBI in people experiencing S/DV in Virginia. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) collaborated with the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) to develop a model that embeds TBI screening and linkage to care within S/DV organizations in Virginia.
VDH and BIAV coordinated with three S/DV organizations who screened clients for the period of 10/1/2020-9/30/2021. Each client was screened for TBI using the validated HELPS screening tool.

N=65 clients were screened for TBI. Forty-nine clients (75%) reported being hit in the head, choked, or strangled. More than 60% of clients with a TBI reported having problems in their daily life as a result of their injury. Most frequently reported symptoms were headaches and dizziness; problems focusing, concentrating, or remembering; and feeling irritable, impatient, or confused. A total of 37 (57%) clients screened positive for a potential brain injury. Thirty percent were referred to a local brain injury program, and 19% to a medical professional.

TBI was common, with a notable impact on the physical, cognitive, and emotional health of screened clients experiencing S/DV. Embedding TBI screening into S/DV organizations is key to linking clients with TBI to medical care and other resources. Addressing TBI and S/DV in a shared risk and protective factor approach leads to facilitation of more trauma-informed client care, improved coordination between organizations serving clients experiencing TBI and S/DV, and better client health outcomes.