The Traumatic Brain Injury Conference NZ is bringing together researchers, practitioners, service providers, advocates, and people with lived experience to discuss the topic: Traumatic Brain Injury Through the Lifespan - recovery, living and ageing. The conference aims to advance knowledge, share emerging evidence, highlight innovative practice, and create meaningful dialogue around the future of support and inclusion.

The conference program will feature a variety of presentation formats including single speaker presentations, workshops and panel discussions. The Call for Abstracts is asking for preference for an oral presentation or poster presentation. You are welcome to submit multiple abstracts for consideration.

The program committee would welcome abstract submissions from the following subject areas:

1.Acute & Medical Management

• ICU/Neurosurgical interventions following TBI
• Acute care of Traumatic Brain Injury
• Intensive rehabilitation following TBI
• Multitrauma with TBI, and the effects on recovery and later life
• TBI and spinal cord injury
• Visual and hearing issues with TBI
• Swallowing issues in later life following TBI
• TBI and nutrition

2.Lifespan & Population-Specific Considerations

• Paediatric TBI
• Return to school
• Ageing well with a TBI
• Traumatic Brain Injury in older New Zealanders
• TBI and Dementia/other degenerative neurological disease in later life
• Brain injury in the military

3.Concussion & Repetitive Head Injury

• Concussion, “mild” Traumatic Brain Injury, Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms/Post-Concussion Syndrome
• Concussion and CTE

4. Psychosocial, Behavioural & Cognitive Aspects

• The management of “challenging behaviours”
• Comorbidities and TBI (drug and alcohol, mental health)
• Brain injury and sexuality
• “Best practice” communication, rapport-building with people with a brain injury

5. Lived Experience, Family & Support Networks

• The lived experience of brain injury – people with a brain injury, significant others, family members, carers
• Peer supports, mentoring of people with a brain injury
• Carer support/burnout
• Residential/homecare with those with TBI – what works
• Brain injury and employment

6. Legal, Justice & Safeguarding Issues

• TBI in the Justice system
• Legal issues of competency with people with TBI
• Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence and brain injury (strangulation)

7. Prevention & Public Health

• The prevention of brain injury

8. Innovation & Cultural Approaches

• Innovations, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), in evidence-based approaches to treatment, rehabilitation and overall care
• Rongoā Māori healing within TBI