By Sarah Heynen, DCoE Strategic Communications Posts from celebrities and politicians may be the first thing that comes to mind when someone hears Twitter, but this widely used social networking site isn’t just for the famous. Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) uses Twitter to bring better care to wounded warriors facing psychological health or traumatic brain injury (TBI) concerns. How can 140 characters promote better care? DCoE provides information and resources to service members, veterans, their families and the very health care providers who care for the wounded.
DCoE Deputy Director for TBI Katherine Helmick joined the “twitterverse” during a one-hour twitterview, or live discussion on Twitter, to connect with health care professionals March 28. As one of the top experts in the field of neuroscience with considerable clinical and research experience, Helmick answered each question with thoughtful consideration.
“The twitterview provided a wonderful opportunity to share available clinical tools that represent the state of science of care of wounded service members with TBI,” said Helmick.
Provider tools shared include the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Pocket Guide, Co-occurring Conditions Toolkit, case management resources and mobile applications. Helmick also noted several clinical recommendations for treating visual, vestibular and sleep disturbances after mild TBI to be released at a future date.
“Brain Injury Awareness Month [March] gives us the opportunity to highlight signs and symptoms of TBI and to encourage early detection, thus early treatment,” said Helmick.
In addition to providing education on the basics of TBI, the Defense Department plays an integral role in developing state-of-art diagnosis and treatments. Check out some key factoids discussed during the twitterview:
■The most prevalent type of brain injury is mild, also known as concussion
■The most common reported symptoms of concussion include headache, memory problems, dizziness and sleep disturbances
■Data shows that upwards of 85-90 percent of patients who sustain a mild TBI will fully recover with no long-term effects
■16 percent of all worldwide TBIs occur in deployed settings, 84 percent occur in non-deployed settings
■If a service member has a positive TBI screening, a health care provider will always follow up with a clinical interview and exam to confirm or negate the suspected diagnosis
■DCoE works with a collaborative network of TBI subject matter experts to develop tools for providers
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