Glossary

Acquired Brain Injury
ABI: Brain injury acquired after birth, distinguished from brain injuries that are present at birth.¹
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
CTE: A brain disease that can come about as a result of repetitive concussions. Its symptoms are similar to those of traumatic brain injury, but are more pronounced, and get worse over time.²
Concussion
A type of traumatic brain injury caused by a force applied to the head/face, neck, or body that makes the brain move within the skull; often referred to as a mild traumatic brain injury, concussion results in a temporary loss of normal brain function^3,4
Contextual Factors
Personal, psychosocial, and environmental factors that can affect recovery after brain injury⁵
Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury
HIBI: Brain injury caused when the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients⁶
Intimate Partner Violence
IPV: Physical, sexual, or psychological harm perpetrated by a current or former partner or spouse⁷
Medical Factors
Pre-existing medical conditions and post-injury symptoms that can affect recovery after brain injury⁵
Neurological Problems
Problems/conditions affecting the nervous system (brain and spine), present from birth, developing as a result of genetic inheritance, or acquired suddenly as a result of injury, stroke, or cancer of the brain or spine⁸
Psychiatric Problems
Problems related to mental health, manifesting as unusual patterns of behaviour, and causing distress and/or disability;⁹ not necessarily indicative of diagnosable disorder
Traumatic Brain Injury
TBI: Brain injury that occurs as a result of force applied to the head, neck, or face that causes injury to the brain, disrupting its normal functioning¹⁰

Long-Term Effects

Traumatic brain injury is not an event, but rather a disease process triggered by injury to the brain.² The course and duration of recovery process depends on a complex interaction of different factors unique to each person. While TBI can be a chronic condition requiring ongoing care and/or supervision,² a history of TBI does not mean that there are lasting effects.

The long-term impact of brain injury depends on several factors that are unique to each person, such as: how severe the injury is, what caused the injury, and what part of the brain or neck was affected. Gender, age, race, income, education level, and previous mental health or addictions disabilities also shape a survivor’s long-term experience.

Factors that Influence Recovery from TBI

The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation¹ categorizes factors that affect recovery after a concussion/mild traumatic brain injury into two groups: medical and contextual. The bolded factors listed below are those of particular relevance to mild traumatic brain injury/concussion recovery in women survivors of IPV. Note that several of the listed risk factors are applicable to this group of women, which has implications for their health and well being after injury to the brain.

Medical:

Previous traumatic brain injury
Previous physical limitations
Previous neurological/psychiatric problems
Skull fracture
Pain, especially headache, within 24 hrs of injury
Other confounding health-related issues (e.g., pain medications, other injury, emotional distress)
Anxiety
High number of symptoms on self-report questionnaires, including:
Vision problems
Pre-injury sleep disturbance/post-injury changes in sleep
Poor balance/dizziness
Nausea
Memory problems
PTA

Contextual:

Traumatic brain injury due to motor vehicle accident
Not returning to work post injury/delayed return
Being a student
Life stressors at time of injury
Older age
Lack of social supports
Lower education/socioeconomic status
Female gender
Lower resilience
Returning to contact sport