This year’s Action for Brain Injury Week is focusing on a shocking statistic: Every 90 seconds someone in the UK is admitted to hospital with a brain injury. This is a stark reminder of how quickly and unexpectedly brain injury can affect anyone’s life.
Brain injury can have a wide range of impacts, from physical and mental health problems, to difficulties with language, memory and emotions.
The goal of Action for Brain Injury Week is to raise awareness of the issue and highlight the importance of providing support and care to those living with the effects of brain injury.
The statistic
Data from this year shows that the number of head injuries and strokes hasn’t decreased; in the UK, there is a hospital admission for head injury every 90 seconds and one stroke every four minutes.
Interestingly, the rate of head injuries among females has continued to grow in hospitals, increasing by 28% among females since 2005-06.
Since 2005-06, strokes in men have increased by 24% while strokes as a whole have increased by 14%.
All sorts of emergencies have gone up 12% since 2005-06, with 356,699 admissions to the hospital in the 2019-20 time frame.
This year’s Action for Brain Injury Week
During Action for Brain Injury (ABI) Week, organised by the brain injury charity Headway, awareness about brain injury is raised and survivors as well as their families get a voice.
During ABI Week, Headway shares stories of brain injury survivors and their family members, who describe the difficulties they face after sustaining a brain injury.
How brain injury can affect anyone
Even a minor head injury may impact brain function, which can sometimes be called concussion. A person can develop concussion-related problems such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, depression, irritability, and problems with memory.
Most people heal and go on with their life with little-to-no repercussions following a head injury within two weeks, but for some, problems persist for many months or years following an incident.Brain injuries that are more severe tend to lead to more problems long term. People who suffer more severe injuries tend to have long-term emotional, social, and lifestyle problems.
With intensive rehabilitation and help from friends and family, survivors and their families are likely to struggle in a future full of uncertainty.
How you can help
Case managers can get involved with Headway’s Action for Brian Injury Week by making a donation to Headway or volunteering with a local group to raise awareness of brain injury and Headway’s services.
Take a Challenge
Do you feel like you could use something a little more intense? Why not sign up for a Headway challenge and work to raise funds as well? Click here to see what’s around you!
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