CPD – What is Acquired Brain Injury?

Head injuries are one of the most common causes of disability and death in adults. The injury can be as mild as a bump, bruise, or cut on the head. It can also be moderate to severe due to a concussion or a deep wound. However, it can also be due to internal bleeding or postpartum trauma that leads to brain damage. One of the injuries is leading to an acquired brain injury condition.

Additionally, some injuries are considered primary trauma, which means that they need immediate medical treatment. Meanwhile, others can be secondary. This secondary damage can happen gradually for hours, days, or weeks after the incident. These neurological conditions result from the reactive processes after the initial head wound.

What is an acquired brain injury?

An acquired brain injury (ABI) is a head damage that affects the cerebrum after birth. The lesion is not a genetic disorder and can be temporary or permanent. Therefore, it can lead to partial or complete disability. This disability can have a long-term effect on someone. For this reason, the impact of this head trauma is challenging to predict. 

Each acquired brain injury may have a different effect, ranging from mild to profound. Therefore, most people with this cognitive impairment experience increased mental and physical fatigue. They may have difficulty processing information, planning, or solving problems. Moreover, this situation causes them to experience changes in their behaviour and personality. It also affects their physical, sensory, or learning abilities.

Difference between a TBI and an ABI

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a post-labour common cranium damage. Usually, the causes come from medical conditions, covering traumatic and non-traumatic causes. These causes include stroke, infections, tumours, hypoxia, and neurotoxic exposure. There are symptoms you can watch for to prevent these impacts on the head. However, the symptoms usually happen slowly, mainly if caused by a progressive condition.

At the same time, several recovery treatments can heal the damages. However, these methods vary depending on their causes. Therefore, improving an ABI disorder needs long-term rehabilitation. Acquired brain injury treatment usually focuses on healing the root of the issues. It can prevent the impact of head trauma. For example, medications, therapies, and supportive counselling can help patients with this neurotrauma.

Meanwhile, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a specific type of ABI. The damage usually comes from external factors or any physical traumas. These factors include blows to the head, falls, car accidents, or sports injuries. As for recovery, TBIs depend on how bad the injury is. It often heals faster if it is at a mild level. Moreover, the treatment for TBI usually focuses on addressing the direct impact of the traumatic damage. For example, some individuals may need medications to control symptoms like pain or seizures.

Course Overview

An acquired brain injury creates difficulties in someone’s life if not treated correctly. They need help from people in living their lives. They often need to relearn everything they previously had. The damage they acquire affects their body function, even how they think. Therefore, a training programme can help people with this condition or professionals handling such patients.

In response, the College of Contract Management offers valuable training for healthcare professionals. This training is specifically about acquired brain injury. The programme aims to give you a deep understanding of this condition. The speaker will also explain the symptoms, how it can happen, and how it impact daily life. By taking the course, you can treat people who have health conditions in their heads

Course Structure

This training offers essential knowledge and applicable guidance for understanding acquired brain injury. It explores how the brain works and the parts that function in the body to move, think, and speak. By taking this course, you can determine the ongoing effects you may experience. It will guide you in learning about the correct rehabilitation based on the causes of the trauma. As you go through the discussion, you will find ways to identify and minimise the risk factors. Therefore, you know how to treat someone with this trauma and prevent accidents from happening. Below are the materials you will learn from the course:

• The basic understanding of acquired brain injury
• How ABI affects the brain, emotions, and physical health
• Ways to support the recovery and rehabilitation of people with head trauma
• Learn the warning signs of this cerebral damage to prevent it gets worse
• Steps to assess and diagnose the condition

Entry Criteria

This CPD – What is Acquired Brain Injury? course is open to everyone. However, it will benefit someone currently caring for the survivors. It is also helpful for doctors, nurses, and any healthcare professionals. Still, you don’t need any medical experience to join this course. CCM created this programme to improve everyone’s knowledge about neurological trauma and contribute to everyone’s professional growth

The types of head injury

This injury usually affects several parts of the head. It involves damage to the head fracture, scalp, skull, or brain. Therefore, people typically know this condition as traumatic brain injury (TBI). They may call it an acquired brain injury (ABI) if it happens after delivering a baby. To make it easier, below are several types of cerebral damage that you need to understand. It includes: 

Concussion

A concussion is a head injury that may cause an instant loss of consciousness. It can happen for less than a few minutes. However, there are instances that unconsciousness can last less than a few hours if bad accidents happen. This case is usually known as post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). This mild concussion can cause short-term damage and result in acquired brain injury. This condition can last for weeks.  

Skull fracture

A skull fracture is a head trauma condition that results in a skull bone breaking following birth. It happens when a strong force hits the head, causing a creak in the skull. The creak can lead to intracranial haemorrhage, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and increased pressure. Therefore, depending on the extent of the damage, it leads to additional challenges. It impacts the bottom of the cerebral tissues, causing an acquired brain injury. With this in mind, there are four significant types of skull fractures. They are Linear skull fractures, depressed, diastatic, and basilar skull fractures.  

Intracranial haematoma (ICH)

Intracranial haematoma is a condition in which the brain has a bloody collection. This skull bleed happens when head trauma damages the tissue and puts pressure on the cerebrum. It typically leads to a short period of unconsciousness. However, ICH can be potentially life-threatening. Therefore, quick first aid, such as surgery, is needed to remove the blood. 

Lifelong recovery from acquired brain injury with CCM

Individuals who are suffering from an acquired brain injury may lose some of their abilities. These include muscle strength, good motor skills, speech, vision, hearing, and taste body function. Some difficulties arise depending on the location of the damage or how bad it is. This leads to the individual’s long- or short-term changes in personality or behaviour.  For this reason, someone with this condition needs long-term medical and rehabilitative treatment.

To help you with this lifelong recovery, the College of Contract Management provides several valuable courses. One of them is about acquired brain injury. This way, CCM delivers the information you need to handle discomfort. Moreover, CCM is a trusted educational institution in the UK, which allows it to create high-quality course material. This is because the college collaborates with industry experts to make the course. Taking the course gives you long-term resources to learn more about the disease.

CCM created this programme to help people handle and recover from an acquired brain injury. This equips you with valuable information and skills to manage neurological damage. However, the course schedule will be announced once the speakers and materials are ready. You can contact our team for further information or assistance. We’re here to help you.