Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program: Background and overview

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the principal cause of death and disability for young Americans, with an estimated societal cost of over $39 billion p er year. The Defense and Veterans Head injury Program (DVHIP) represents a close collaboration among the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Aff airs (DVA), the Brain Injury Association (BIA), and the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA). Its principal mission is to ensure that militar y and veteran patients with head injury receive TBI-specific evaluation, tr eatment, rehabilitation, and follow-up, while at the same time addressing t he readiness mission of the military and helping to define optimal care for victims of TBI nationwide. Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program activi ties can be grouped into three broad classes: (1) TBI education, community service, and primary prevention projects; (2) combined TBI clinical treatme nt, rehabilitation, and clinical research projects; and (3) clinically link ed TBI laboratory research projects. It is thus based on a prudent integrat ion of clinical care and follow-up with programmatic clinical and clinicall y related laboratory research, TBI prevention, and education. This previous ly nonexistent clinical infrastructure now offers a valuable base for ongoi ng TBI clinical research.