The National Brain Injury Action Plan: Building a Coordinated Future for Brain Injury Care and Research
Categories: THE Challenge!
America needs a Brain Injury National Action Plan.
Brain injury is more common than most people think. In fact, at least one in four Americans have experienced a brain injury, yet we still don’t have a national strategy to improve treatment, research, or support. The Brain Injury Association of America and our partners are calling for a Brain Injury National Action Plan: a new way of thinking to address the complex issues of brain injury, and to ensure that brain injury survivors and their families can recover and thrive.
What It Is
A first-of-its-kind federal initiative designed to make brain injury a national public health priority, the National Brain Injury Action Plan establishes a comprehensive framework to assess and strengthen how the United States prevents, identifies, treats, and supports people with brain injury.
What It Does
The plan establishes an Advisory Council charged with evaluating the state of federal brain injury programs and providing recommendations to advance care and research, as well as close service gaps.
The Advisory Council will:
- Assess prevalence and prevention opportunities
- Review classification systems
- Identify opportunities to improve data collection and sharing
- Evaluate medical coding practices
- Examine post-acute care and community reintegration strategies
Based on their findings, the Advisory Council will deliver an initial assessment to Congress outlining the state of brain injury in the United States, followed by annual reports offering recommendations to strengthen federal systems and ensure that every survivor can access consistent, high-quality care.
Upon receiving these reports, it will be up to Congress to enact legislation or appropriations aligned with the Council’s recommendations, and for federal agencies to adopt policies that improve coordination, integration, and delivery of brain injury services nationwide.
Through cross-agency collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing evaluation, the plan creates a unified roadmap for progress – one that drives systemic change to empower survivors, support families, and strengthen our communities.
For too long, brain injury has been understudied and underfunded, and it disproportionately affects veterans and survivors of domestic violence
