Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury (University of Tasmania)

The Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) was developed by the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre based in the College of Health and Medicine at the University of Tasmania, with support from Connectivity. This online course is free, easily accessible and available to everyone with an interest in TBI, neuroscience or brain health.

Enroll in course

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Once the course commences, you will be able to log in to engage with the course content and activities, and meet other participants.

To get the most out of this experience, you should expect to spend approximately 2 hours per week completing the course activities for the 5 weeks of scheduled content.

The release of course content will occur at 9:00am AEST on the following dates:

Introduction - 22nd August, 2022

Module 1: Brain science and TBI pathology - 24th August, 2022

Module 2: TBI from mild to severe - 31st August, 2022

Module 3: TBI across the lifespan - 14th September, 2022

Module 4: Life after TBI - 21st September, 2022

Completion - 28th September, 2022

You can work through the content at any time of day and at your own pace. This includes revisiting earlier released content as needed up until the course close on 14th October, 2022 at 5:00pm AEDT.

Once you have completed the course, you will be eligible to download a free, personalised certificate of completion. We will also offer paid enhanced certificates options in addition to the free certificate. There will be more information about this in the Completion module.

We look forward to your contribution, as an important member of the Understanding TBI community.

Course Outline

Module 1 – Brain Science and TBI Pathology

- What is a brain injury?

- Introduction to the brain and brain anatomy and brain function

- Biomechanics of TBI

- Primary vs Secondary Injury
Module 2 – TBI from Mild to Severe

- Mild TBI/concussion and symptoms and modes of concussion

- Moderate to Severe TBI

- Primary Damage in Focal TBI

- Secondary Injury Cascades

- Diffuse Brain Injury

- Oedema

- Imaging for diagnosis/prognosis

- Link between brain injury, cognition and behaviour
Module 3 – TBI across the Lifespan

- Paediatric TBI

- TBI across age groups

- TBI in older adults

- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

- Consequences outside the brain
Module 4 – Life after TBI

- Impairments and Outcomes

- Rehabilitation

- Life for family members after TBI

- Support after TBI

- Personal traits: coping style

- Personal traits: resilience

- Sourcing reliable information