TBI&Work Toolkit: Employment Resources for People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be the result of a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury. TBI can lead to a lifetime of physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems that affect the lives of individuals and their families. In the United States, TBI occurs every 21 seconds, resulting in 2.9 million emergency visits per year.

For people with TBI, return-to-work is a major goal in the recovery process and is associated with higher life satisfaction and economic outcomes. However, people with TBI often experience poor employment outcomes. Unemployment levels for people with TBI are even higher for women, Black, Hispanics, and individuals with lower educational attainment. Although people with TBI face multifaceted employment challenges, there is a lack of evidence-based, user-friendly resources to support them.

Researchers from AIR will work with TBI stakeholders to co-create a TBI&Work Toolkit with resources that are comprehensive, user-friendly, evidence-based, strength-based, and easy to use for TBI self-management in the workplace. Through the adoption of the TBI&Work Toolkit, the project will help improve the awareness, knowledge, and capacity of TBI management and self-efficacy and self-advocacy in the workplace leading to improved employment outcomes of people with TBI and improved systems of vocational rehabilitation care and services for people with TBI.

The TBI&Work project is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (grant number: 90DPKT0017).