Joining Forces Joining Families, Winter 2020 – Traumatic brain injury and IPV

The focus of this issue is traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). Why is this interrelation important? TBI is a frequent result of IPV due to blows to the face and head, being thrown about against a wall or floor, and non-fatal strangulation. The outcome is particularly severe when TBI occurs repeatedly. Our interview is with Dr. Angela Colantonio, the Director of the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto, and Halina Haag, of the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. The interview focuses on TBI and its impacts on mental health, return to work, and social integration of women survivors of IPV with brain injury. A separate article explains the gendered experience of TBI, and another gives basic information on the physical, psychological, and social impacts of TBI. Our statistics article focuses on odds ratios and confidence limits, measures that are often encountered in comparisons of populations, particularly regarding risks. Finally, we have identified websites of interest with resources for those who have sustained TBI and for their caregivers.