“ We know that the true number of people impacted by brain injury has been severely undercounted, and relative to the scale of impact it has been severely underfunded.”
Issue 34.2 SPRING 2025
• Gender disparities: Men are nearly twice as likely to be asked about a history of brain injury( 29 % v. 16 %) when discussing medical history with a healthcare provider – they are also more likely to have experienced symptoms of a concussion( 45 % vs. 33 %). Women are more likely to be asked about pregnancy( 38 %) than a potential brain injury( 16 %).
• Barriers to seeking care: While nine out of 10( 89 %) adults say they are somewhat or very likely to seek medical attention if they experienced a head injury, among those who would not seek care, 41 % cite not believing their injury is serious or severe enough, 36 % cite not experiencing any symptoms or signs of a brain injury, and 35 % say financial barriers, including lack of health insurance( 19 %), would prevent them from seeking care.
• Parental concern and action: Eight out of 10( 81 %) parents of children younger than 18 agree they are confident in recognizing when their child needs medical attention for a head injury, yet many still struggle to identify concussion symptoms accurately( 55 % of parents of children under 18 incorrectly selected at least one non-symptom).
“ While many people claim to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of brain injury, the results of this poll show that misconceptions persist,” said John D. Corrigan, Ph. D., the Brain Injury Association of America’ s National Research Director.
“ Detection and treatment for brain injury is incredibly important to our overall public health. Research shows that brain injury can develop into a chronic health condition and is connected to the development of other health problems like cardiac disease and diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’ s and Alzheimer’ s disease,” he continued.
The poll suggests Americans support Corrigan’ s beliefs with 83 % of all U. S. adults agreeing that there is not enough public awareness about treating brain injury.
“ We know that the true number of people impacted by brain injury has been severely undercounted, and relative to the scale of impact it has been severely underfunded,” said Rick Willis, president and CEO of BIAA.“ This further makes the case that brain injury education, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation needs to be prioritized.” g
“ We know that the true number of people impacted by brain injury has been severely undercounted, and relative to the scale of impact it has been severely underfunded.”
Survey Highlights
While 70 % of Americans say they are familiar with concussions, only about half report similar awareness of brain injury.
81 % of adults in the U. S. do not recognize concussions as traumatic brain injuries.
Fewer than one in five know that falls are the leading cause of brain injuries.
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