Epidemiology of Traumatic Brain Injury

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A Mentored PatientOriented Research Career Development Award (K23) is proposed. The overall goal of this proposal is to give the candidate a rigorous training in research methods, such that the proposed project can be successfully completed and an independent research career be launched. The complexity and scope of the proposed project, as well as the applicant's career goals, necessitate the acquisition of sophisticated research skills. The applicant's immediate career objectives are to better understand the principles and methods of clinical research, and to apply them in an effort to set up a traumatic brain injury (TBI) surveillance system. The applicant's longterm career goals are to have established a method of TBI surveillance that can be used as a model for Monroe County, NY and the nation and better defined the epidemiology and outcome from minor TBI. A 5year, highly structured and mentored training plan is proposed. During the first 2 years, formal training leading to a degree in Masters of Public Health in Clinical Investigation at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) will be undertaken. Areas to be covered include research theory, methods and ethics, with special emphasis on injury surveillance methodology. The mentor will provide instruction and guidance in the practical application of these skills, while the proposed research project is begun. During the following 3 years, the research project will be more carefully developed and implemented, data collected and proposed hypotheses tested, all under the careful guidance of the mentor. The proposed research plan, entitled "Epidemiology of Traumatic Brain Injury," is a prospective observational cohort study of all patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of the URMC meeting the CDC-defined case definition of TBI. Detailed demographic and epidemiologic data, including mechanism and geographic location of injury, will be collected before exiting the ED. Outcome data will be collected via structured telephone interview on the subgroup of TBI patients who meet the study definition of minor TBI. This will permit the testing of several hypotheses related to the epidemiology and outcome from minor TBI, the determination of the most complete method of surveillance datacollection in an ED setting, and the estimation of the economic impact of minor TBI on Monroe County, NY.