Before we get to the traumatic brain injury grants, let’ talk about the disorder first. The traumatic brain injury may be caused by various reasons, but most of them are head injuries that disrupt the brain’s normal function. A simple blow, bump on the head, or accident may cause this disorder. Most of the cases are caused by falling and accidents. In its mild level of severity, the traumatic brain injuries are commonly called concussions, which may cause a short loss of consciousness. However, some severe cases may have a much worse experience.
Although it is true that traumatic brain injury victim in the United States is not as much as other serious diseases like cancer or diabetes, the effect of the traumatic brain injury can be very devastating for both the patient and the family. As much as 2.70 million American citizens are having a tough time because of the injury each year since in worse cases the traumatic brain injury can cause disability.
The United States government has issued an Act back in 1996 that recognized the need for improved TBI support and services. There have been significant and positive changes since the act was established. Today, you can get information about several assistance programs aimed at TBI patients and also TBI researchers.
Traumatic Brain Injury Grants Program
The Federal government annually distributes the Traumatic Brain Injury State Demonstration Grant Program for each State. The grant should be used to improve access to medical home and system of care, along with early diagnosis and intervention. The grant is usually managed by an advisory board in the State’s Department of Health or other departments that is closely related to the Traumatic Brain Injury. Therefore, there may be a few differences in each state. The grant covers a wide variety of activities related to TBI, which may include the traumatic brain injury research. To learn more about this grant opportunity, contact your State’s department of health and ask their representative.
Researchers can go to Kessler Foundation to find out about the TBI grants opportunities. The Kessler Foundation supports non-invasive studies, which means your research must not include clinical tests. All research participants should be tested through neuroimaging, computer assessment, interviews, and paper and pencil tests.
The National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) also provide several grant opportunities for aspiring researchers. That said, the NIDRR covers a wide area of disabilities so the grant opportunity for the traumatic brain injury may not be available each year. Stay in touch and check their website from time to time to see if there’s a chance for the traumatic brain injury research grant.
People who are looking for traumatic brain injury grants for their research should join the NINDS TBI research listserv to know the latest updates on grant opportunities. The NINDS stands for the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, so they are not made specifically for the TBI. Check out our reference section to learn more about their programs.
Last but not least, I hope this post can help people and researchers looking for their traumatic brain injury grants.
References :
- Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Program State Grant Fact Sheets: mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/traumaticbraininjury/statefactsheets.html
- Traumatic Brain Injury Research (TBI): ninds.nih.gov/research/tbi/
- Traumatic Brain Injury State Demonstration Grant Program: cfda.gov/index?s=program&mode=form&tab=core&id=808eaeebfd89cddb5d7865e5183730a7
- Injury Prevention & Control: cdc.gov/injury/FundedPrograms/foa/
- Images: huffingtonpost.com