A new study has shed light on how concussion or a mild brain injury can affect New Zealanders’ earnings in the years after an incident.
The study, published by researchers at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in the journal Health Economics, found even a mild brain injury could lead to losses of $25,000 within the first four years after injury.
The researchers estimated that the roughly 25,000 adults experiencing a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) could lose a combined $600 million in earnings annually.
“While many people return to work quickly after a mild brain injury, chronic symptoms such as extreme tiredness and an inability to think clearly means that people sometimes struggle to perform at their pre-injury levels,” Professor Alice Theadom, Director of AUT’s Traumatic Brain Injury Network, said.
“As a result, workers often have to reduce their hours or levels of responsibility; eventually, they may have to give up their jobs.”
It found that earnings lost because of concussions did not recover quickly, declining within the first four years. Losses could reach $3000 in the first year after the injury and escalate to nearly $9000 by the fourth year.
Dr Lisa Meehan, Deputy Director of AUT’s NZ Policy Research Institute and co-author, said the economic and social impacts of mild brain injuries are huge.
“Our research highlights the value of investing in timely diagnosis and treatment to mitigate these long-term impacts,” she said.
‘They can’t see the injury’
Speaking to 1News, Catherine Matthews, vice president of Brain Injury New Zealand, said employees returning to work too fast can often be caused by a lack of understanding of brain injuries.
“I think that’s where the problem is because I know a lot of people, a lot of the people that we work with every day, and their employers aren’t flexible enough.”
She said that because a brain injury is something we can’t see, it can be difficult to know how serious they are.
“They can’t see the injury. They don’t understand it. They had a concussion, and their employer has said, ‘That was weeks ago. You should be over by now. You look fine’.”
Stacey Mowbray, chief executive of Headway Brain Injury Auckland, said the pressure to return to work for people with concussions was a concern.
“We know that if they have a gradual return, they can definitely have better outcomes if they get the support they need,” she said.
“But I think it can be quite natural to feel pressure to return to work. Maybe too quickly and too intensely.”
She said this pressure reflected New Zealand society, where concussions were stigmatised by some.
“A concussion isn’t a ‘she’ll be right’ type of injury. Maybe there’s a bit of culture in our country, you know, ‘she’ll be right, toughen up, get on and get back to work’.
“And so one of the hurdles that people face is that because it’s invisible, there’s an expectation from other people, our community, and ourselves to just get on with it and get back to work.
There were also issues around expected recovery timelines. Both Matthews and Mowbray said every person experiences a brain injury differently, which means not everybody’s recovery is the same.
“It does us a disservice that brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury, which is a concussion, can be treated a bit like any other mild health issue, like a sprained ankle,” Mowbray said.
“We can’t expect to follow the same path of recovery for anyone else. Our brain is so complex.”
Matthews said: “A certain number of people recover quickly after a concussion. But then there’s a lot of other factors.
“It can be what’s happening in the person’s life. It can be how many other things they’ve had if they’ve had other stresses in their life. And lots of other things that can impact on your recovery.”
How can we change the way we treat concussions in the workplace
Mowbray, Matthews, and the researchers agreed the number one way to reduce how a brain injury affects income was to remove the stigma society has around concussions.
They said New Zealand has a culture of dismissing concussions as purely sport-related injuries and something only men experience.
“That’s not the case,” Mowbray said, “You know, concussions are happening everywhere in our homes, in our workplaces.
“I think it’s time for us to start having these open and informed conversations about what a concussion is and the best way to recover from it.”
Matthews said it was important to be “flexible” when it came to concussions in the workplace and wanted employers to understand that it can be challenging to navigate life with a brain injury.
“Understand that if it’s a mild brain injury, they may really struggle with a lot of issues.
“Their brain injury doesn’t just define them. This brain injury has come along and interrupted their life.”
Mowbray said education around concussions was a significant shift that society needed to make.
“We need to make sure that workplaces are bringing concussion education and knowledge into the workplace to work as programmes and policies. We would love to see brain and drink education as part of that work.
“We think that if it’s everyone’s responsibility. That will help.”
According to ACC, around 35,000 New Zealand sufferer from a traumatic brain injury each year, with 95% of them mild.
