Characteristics of African Americans and Hispanics with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Past Studies

Past Studies report that individuals of ethnic minority status appear to be receiving increasing amounts of traumatic brain injuries, when compared to the general population. Information from the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Database indicates that among ethnic minorities who have received traumatic brain injuries, African Americans and Hispanics appear to receive the greatest frequency of TBI.. Although ethnicity research is lacking in the field of traumatic brain injury, most studies have found more similarities than differences between minority and non-minority populations with traumatic brain injuries.

This Study

This Study analyzed information regarding 87 individuals identified as a person of an ethnic minority with traumatic brain injury who completed inpatient rehabilitation at one Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems facility. The data was then compared with the information collected nationally in the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Database Collection.The study group’s ethnicity was 94.3% African American and 5.7% Hispanic. The majority of the participants were unmarried, male, and approximately age 35. Before their brain injuries, almost all of the individuals lived in a private home, nearly half had completed high school or an equivalency exam, and about 70% were employed. Nearly 34% of the participants reported a history of illegal drug use, and over 50% had a history of moderate to heavy alcohol use. Approximately 35% of the participants had a pre-injury history of arrest, with an average number of 4.5 arrests each.The researchers found that the most frequent causes of brain injuries for individuals of ethnic minority status were vehicle crashes, violence, falls, and being injured by a vehicle while walking. These most frequent causes of brain injury were very similar to those of non-minorities. There were no significant differences found between minorities and non-minorities when comparing abilities at the time of rehabilitation admission or discharge. Likewise, the majority of individuals in this study returned to their homes after rehabilitation.

Who May Be Affected By These Findings

Individuals of ethnic minority status, persons with brain injuries, health care providers, public health and prevention specialists, and researchers

Caveats

It appeared that there were more similarities than differences between minorities and non-minorities with traumatic brain injury. The results of this study appear to be consistent with those of former similar studies.

Bottom Line

African Americans and Hispanics who experienced brain injury were more likely to be single, male, and in their mid-thirties. The top causes of their brain injuries were vehicle crashes, violence, and falls. The African Americans and Hispanics with brain injuries appeared to recover to the same degree after rehabilitation and return to their home at the same rates as non-minorities. The researchers encourage future studies regarding levels of functioning after longer lengths of time after their discharge from inpatient rehabilitation programs.

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