CDC Traumatic Brain Injury Study to Test Treatments, Examine Outcomes

September 6, 2012

Keith Yeates, PhD, director of the Center for Biobehavioral Health in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, has been designated lead neuropsychologist for a five-year, multisite study of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among United States children, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grant is for approximately $2.75 million.

“We know surprisingly little about the effects of treatment on the outcomes of traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents,” said Dr. Yeates. “The results of this study should help us provide parents of children with TBI with better evidence-based recommendations for their children’s care.”

The study will include children 8 to 18 years and is designed to examine the effect of treatment during the acute, short-term and longer-term phases of care on the functional, psychosocial and disability outcomes after traumatic brain injury.

The study consortium involves investigators at Harborview Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Nationwide Children’s. In addition to his role as the study’s lead neuropsychologist, Dr. Yeates, also a faculty member at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, will also serve as Nationwide Children’s principal investigator on the grant.

About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 16,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.8 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.