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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become a rapidly growing global public health problem. It causes premature loss of lives, the interruption of workforce supply pipelines, increased care demand for injured elderly people, and other socio-economic burdens. This paper presents the importance of and the need for a national comprehensive TBI database that incorporates geospatial data components to help tackle the TBI epidemic. It calls for legislative and research actions to enhance the U.S. TBI data infrastructure to make the use of GIS in TBI research possible. Further, it proposes a multi-tiered conceptual framework and associated implementation strategy to establish the proposed national TBI data structure. The enhanced U.S. TBI data infrastructure will provide a feasible platform to utilize the GIS capabilities for location-based mapping, data analysis and modelling. Precision TBI research, targeted outreach, and education will likely facilitate more effective prevention and better care delivery. The enhanced U.S. TBI database infrastructure will serve as a guiding model for other developing nations. Global concerted efforts on TBI can help improve the overall quality of living around the world.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has grown to pandemic proportions, placing a significant burden on global public health, socio-economic condition, and human capital resources. This paper examines the global spatial distribution of TBI using currently available data from research studies to advance a comprehensive review of TBI that integrates geospatial and environmental perspectives. It reveals significant geographic differences and socioeconomic gaps in global TBI incidence tracking, prevalence, and mortality rates. It proposes an environmental science approach to improving public awareness, tracking and prevention of TBI through the integration of environmental data using GIS. The use of GIS for accurate location-based mapping and integrated analysis of environmental data subsequently helps reveal risk factors for targeted research, education outreach, and more effective public health policy and preventative measures.

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