Community Brain Injury Service Integration Project

The Community Brain Injury Service Integration (CBISI) Project was initiated to better understand how brain injury (BI) services and supports are accessed and experienced across the Interior Health region, with a focus on identifying gaps, areas of strength, and opportunities to improve collaborative service provision across organizations.

CBISI Executive Summary - DRAFT

CBISI Findings and Recommendations Summary - DRAFT

CBISI Full Report - DRAFT

Led by Interior Health’s Trauma Services Network, the project was completed in partnership with the University of British Columbia Okanagan, with generous support from the KGH Foundation, the Pritchard Foundation Fund and Mitacs.

The work was grounded in meaningful collaboration with individuals with lived experience, community brain injury organizations, service providers across health and social sectors, Indigenous partners and academic partners. This collaborative approach ensured the project reflected diverse perspectives and real-world service contexts across the Interior.

Brain injury is a prevalent and high-impact health condition that spans multiple systems of support. Understanding how individuals and families navigate services over time helps identify opportunities to strengthen supports throughout recovery and long-term wellbeing.

People living with brain injury (BI) often require support from multiple systems over time, including health care, housing, mental health and substance use services, social services, and community organizations. However, these systems are not always well connected, which can make it challenging for individuals and families to navigate supports following the acute phase of injury.

For many individuals, the impacts of BI extend well beyond the initial medical event and can influence cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, employment, relationships, and daily living. When these impacts intersect with broader social factors such as housing instability, substance use, or justice involvement, navigating services can become even more complex.

These realities highlight the importance of collaboration across organizations and sectors to better understand how services connect, where gaps may exist, and how supports can better connect to meet the needs of individuals living with BI and their families over time.

The CBISI Project engaged communities across the Interior Health region to better understand how brain injury (BI) services and supports are experienced within different local contexts.

Engagement occurred across urban, regional, rural, and remote communities, reflecting the geographic and service realities of the Interior. Input was gathered from individuals with lived experience of BI, family members, community organizations, and service providers across health, housing, mental health and substance use, justice, and social service sector. A combination of surveys, interviews, and community discussions were used to explore how services are accessed, how people move through systems over time, and where challenges and strengths exist across sectors and regions.

The project data identified nine consistent themes, including fragmented systems, gaps in BI knowledge, challenges with service navigation, housing-related barriers, stigma and bias, and systemic constraints that affect access to coordinated care. At the same time, participants shared examples of innovation and collaboration already occurring within communities. Together, these findings highlight both areas of strength within the existing system and opportunities to improve continuity, equity, and person-centred supports for people living with BI and their families.

• Develop service and support pathways
• Develop centralized virtual intake and coordination
• Develop and implement BI- specific education
• Develop a regional concussion management strategy
• Implement a team-based care model for moderate to severe and complex brain injury
• Integrate stable housing as a foundational element of BI rehabilitation
• Explore opportunities to improve current resource and funding models
• Improve ability to capture, share, and use BI-related data
• Establish a strategic brain injury council

The CBISI report brings together evidence and lived experience to support shared learning and future planning across the Interior. Additional Content:

Drawing from the insights and learning generated through the project, nine evidence-informed recommendations and action items were developed to support a flexible, phased approach to strengthening coordination and continuity of BI supports.

The recommendations are intended to be taken up as a shared responsibility, recognizing that meaningful progress depends on collaboration rather than action by any single organization or sector. Together, they provide a foundation for continued partnership and coordinated action as opportunities, priorities, and resources align.

Interior Health is grateful to the KGH Foundation for providing additional funding to support the continuation of this work. This next phase will advance select recommendations, including the development of a Service and Support Pathway and the formation of a Strategic Brain Injury Council, building on the strong partnerships, shared learning, and momentum established through the CBISI Project.

For more information about the CBISI project, please email traumaservicesnetwork@interiorhealth.ca.