Treatment of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) should be based upon the strongest evidence to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Given the challenges, efforts involved, and delays in uptake of evidence into practice, priorities for knowledge translation (KT) should be chosen carefully. An international workshop was convened to identify KT priorities for acute and rehabilitation care of TBI and develop KT projects addressing these priorities.
An expert panel of 25 neurotrauma clinicians, researchers, and KT scientists representing 4 countries examined 66 neurotrauma research topics synthesized from 2 neurotrauma evidence resources: Evidence Based Review of Acquired Brain Injury and Global Evidence Mapping projects. The 2-day workshop combined KT theory presentations with small group activities to prioritize topics using a modified Delphi method.
Four acute care topics and 3 topics in the field of rehabilitation were identified. These were focused into 3 KT project proposals: optimization of intracranial pressure and nutrition in the first week following TBI; cognitive rehabilitation following TBI; and vocational rehabilitation following TBI.
Three high-priority KT projects were developed: the first combined 2 important topics in acute TBI management of intracranial pressure management and nutrition, and the other projects focused on cognitive rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation.
Brain and Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program (Dr Bayley), Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Ms Kua); Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr Bayley); Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada (Dr Teasell); Aging, Rehabilitation and Geriatric Care, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada (Dr Wolfe); Surgery and Public Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Dr Gruen); Alfred Health (Dr Gruen); Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Dr Eng); Brain Trauma Foundation, New York (Dr Ghajar); Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York (Dr Ghajar); National Trauma Research Institute & Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Drs Tavender and Bragge); and Australian Satellite, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Tavender).
Corresponding Author: Mark Theodore Bayley, MD, Brain and Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network, Room 3-131, 550 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada (mark.bayley@uhn.ca).
The project described in this article was funded through the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative—a research program of the Transport Accident Commission and Monash University's Strategic Grants Scheme (lead chief investigator: Peter Bragge) and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (lead chief investigator: Mark Bayley).
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Victorian Transport Accident Commission through its Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative, Monash University, and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation for their support of this project. Mark Bayley and Peter Bragge thank Marisa Chau and Veronica Pitt, for their work on creating the data set of neurotrauma research studies that informed the workshop, and Ailene Kua, for her work in coordinating the workshop binder and workshop logistics. Project investigators who have authored this article (Mark Bayley, Peter Bragge, Janice Eng, Russell Gruen, Emma Tavender, Robert Teasell, and Dalton Wolfe) also thank the other members of the investigator team for their contributions to this project: Marije Bosch, Ornella Clavisi, Michael Fehlings, Sally Green, Jeremy Grimshaw, John Lavis, and Shawn Marshall. The authors extend their particular gratitude to all of the workshop participants for their dedication to the task of identifying and developing neurotrauma knowledge translation projects.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
