Gifty Asare and Samira Omar

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Supporting Black Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Addressing Anti-Black Racism and Building Survivor-Led, Trauma-Informed, Cross-Sectoral Solutions to TBI

This Webinar was presented and recorded on June 15, 2023.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among survivors of intimate partner violence is highly prevalent yet it is often unnoticed and overlooked, especially when survivors face socially derived barriers to care and wellbeing such as anti-Black racism.

Black persons with TBI experience racism and structural violence when seeking treatment and services from rehabilitation institutions. Although racism has been recognized as a fundamental contributor to racial health disparities, it remains unexamined in rehabilitation sciences. Barriers to TBI care are compounded for Black survivors of intimate partner violence which disproportionately impacts women. When TBI occurs within the context of intimate partner violence, its physical, mental, and cognitive impacts are increased and can lead to prolonged disability if not treated.

In this Webinar, presenters share information about how systemic racism impacts care pathways for Black patients with TBI. They also identify the crucial role of rehabilitation professionals and peer supports in the care of intimate partner violence survivors who have experienced TBI.

Webinar Recording

 

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Learning Objectives

After participating in this Webinar, participants will better be able to:

  • Determine how Black people with traumatic brain injury access care pathways.
  • Understand the roles of rehabilitation professionals and peer supports in aiding survivors of intimate partner violence.
  • Enhance cultural competence and awareness of diversity and inclusion when working with survivors affected by intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury.

Speakers

GiftyFrame.pngDr. Gifty Asare (Ghanian Canadian (African Canadian)) First generation Ghanian (Kwahu Nation) immigrant born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. WomenattheCentrE Gender based violence (GBV) Activist (IPV TBI project). Gifty is a doctoral graduate of Psychology and Neuroscience at York University. She completed her masters in Psychiatry at McGill university and a Bachelors in Neuroscience at Concordia University. Her expertise is in neuroimaging and neuroclinical interventions in younger and older adults. She has previously worked as a neurofeedback and biofeedback technician aiding in the rehabilitation of TBI survivors. She was a WomenatthecentrE chapter’s co-chair supporting women-identifying survivors of GBV on University campus. Currently, she’s a research lead for the PHAC-funded WomenatthecentrE’s Cross-Sectoral Solutions: Strengthening Community Capacity to Address the ‘Parallel Pandemic’ of IPV & TBI Through a Survivor-Led Support Intervention Project that aims to develop a rehabilitation program for IPV-TBI survivors across Canada.

SamiraFrame.pngDr. Samira Omar completed her doctoral studies in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto and is a researcher in the Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab. Her doctoral research focuses on how institutional racism manifests in rehabilitation research and practice for Black survivors of TBI and considerations for investments in anti-racist care. As a result, she has been invited to speak and teach nationally and internationally about these intersectional and systemic issues in rehabilitation to audiences including occupational therapy students, rehabilitation sciences faculty, community-based TBI organizations, and international researchers and practitioners. She has also won several awards including the Neurological Health Charities Canada Change Maker Award for her contributions to TBI care and an honorary membership to the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists in 2022. Dr. Omar is committed to improving the everyday lives of underserved populations living with the aftermaths of TBI through her continued efforts in research, knowledge translation, and advocacy.

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