Rethinking TBI Care
Project Overview
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are incredibly complex; each injury is unique and has an unpredictable recovery process. This uncertainty is scary for TBI patients and their loved ones, and makes care coordination complicated for the litany of specialists who work with this patient population.
My three wonderful teammates– Snghyun Byon, Sunaina Sekaran, Emily Appenzeller– and I worked on this 5-month-long capstone project for Human-Centered Design minors at Dartmouth. We worked closely with a neurosurgeon and a trauma surgeon at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) to learn the ins and outs of TBI care at DHMC, assess shortcomings, and propose solutions.
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We created two separate, but intertwined solutions to improve TBI care at DHMC:
the DHMC TBI Resource Binder, and the TBI Nurse Navigator.
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Opportunities
How Might We...
. . . facilitate better communication across providers so caregivers don’t feel pressured to fill that gap?
. . . increase caregivers' access to reputable resources on TBIs?
. . . ensure patients without an advocate don’t slip through the cracks?
Solutions
TBI Nurse Navigator: Nurse navigators provide specific clinical knowledge and individualized assistance to patients and caregivers to expedite and coordinate care and address health system barriers. The nurse navigator identifies and alleviates stressors during transitions to deliver a seamless model of care that benefits patients, family members, and the healthcare team. We developed a funding proposal and outlined the responsibilities for a new TBI nurse navigator role; click [here] to view it.
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DHMC TBI Resource Binder: this resource is geared towards caregivers who are present and invested in the recovery of the individual with a TBI. It includes a basic introduction on TBIs, templates for taking notes on conversations with providers, information about DHMC and the surrounding area, and a section that clarifies and distinguishes between the various specialists who care for TBI patients. Click [here] to view a PDF of the binder contents.
Additional Deliverables
What I Spearheaded & Learned
Logistics and communication with project partners and interviewees.
User interviews.
Prototyping, testing, and assimilating feedback into new iterations of the DHMC TBI Resource Binder.
Slide deck preparation.
Public speaking.
Group meetings are always better with snacks.