In Canada, June is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Each year national, provincial, and local associations run campaigns to increase awareness about the prevalence of brain injury, the obstacles that exist for those with brain injury, and the need for more services and support at all stages of recovery.

The prevalence of brain injury is well-established. But awareness of brain injury in the general public remains low. Lack of awareness of brain injury contributes to both personal and systemic barriers that make daily living and community interactions challenging for the over 1.5 million Canadians with brain injury, their caregivers, and their families. And these are not short-term challenges – for the majority of individuals, the effects of brain injury are chronic and life-long. Yet there is little research on the long-term implications of brain injury, resulting in critical gaps in care for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

We encourage you to read about our researchers* that are involved in traumatic and acquired brain injury research (TBI and ABI), and connect with BIANS, our local association for Brain Injury Awareness, to find out how you can support them this #BrainInjuryAwarenessMonth.

*Researchers include: Adrienne Weeks, Alon Friedman, and many trainees at the Blood Brain Barrier Lab