Research Centers

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on
TBI Interventions (RRTC)

The overall goal of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on TBI Interventions (also referred to as the RRTC) is to enhance the cognitive, physical and emotional functioning of people with TBI. This goal will be accomplished through RRTC research activities that produce new knowledge. This knowledge will be translated by the RRTC into information useful for targeted audiences - through training, dissemination and technical assistance activities. The goal is the creation and adoption of innovative post-TBI interventions, improvement of community-based post-TBI treatment and services, and better research tools. In the long term, results of RRTC activities should aid people with TBI in participating more fully in home, work and community activities, in a manner that enhances their life satisfaction. The agenda and shape of RRTC products have been and will continually be defined and shaped through feedback from consumers: both professionals and individuals with TBI, as part of Participatory Action Research. The RRTC is funded for a five-year period (October 1, 2004-September 30, 2009) by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education (Grant No. H133B040033). The RRTC has three areas of activity:

• A research program that includes four projects:
• Research Project 1 is a randomized clinical trial to evaluate an intervention aimed at improving mood in people with TBI.
• Research Project 2 is a randomized clinical trial of a treatment program for people with TBI to improve an aspect of their cognition referred to as executive functioning.
• Research Project 3 will analyze the content and quality of recently published post-TBI intervention studies. The results provide a basis for supporting improved (i.e., evidence-based) practice amongst health professionals in the community who treat individuals with TBI.
• Research Project 4 will finalize the development of a new measure of rehabilitation outcome that incorporates both objective and subjective perspectives on participation in home and community activities.
• A capacity building program to better educate rehabilitation professionals in identifying, assessing and providing appropriate interventions, treatments and accommodations for people with TBI.
• A comprehensive plan for knowledge translation to achieve intended outcomes amongst professionals and consumers. Knowledge translation is accomplished through a variety of dissemination methods: workshops, conferences, publications, Web site resources, presentations, technical assistance, actions to effect policy changes and the like.

The RRTC Web site provides a variety of resources: published and Web-based and answers to frequently asked question about TBI.