Continuing concussion work both at home and in East Africa: Dr. Shelina Babul’s sabbatical
BCIRPU’s Dr. Shelina Babul says that her recent sabbatical allowed her to catch-up on the projects that were on hold due to COVID-19, review the current literature, further some of the work that she is most passionate about, and just decompress from Zoom fatigue.
Dr. Babul took a six-month sabbatical, returning to her work as Associate Director of the BCIRPU and Clinical Professor of UBC’s Department of Pediatrics, in August 2022.
During this time, she was able to finish the work she started on educating teachers, coaches, sports managers, and medical professionals in East Africa on concussion recognition, diagnosis, and management. Dr. Babul travelled to Uganda in 2019, but plans to return were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A building in Tanga, Tanzania, where Dr. Babul’s grandparents had a family business.
Dr. Babul visited an elephant orphanage in Nairobi.
During her sabbatical, Dr. Babul travelled to Nairobi and Tanzania, presenting to medical residents and emergency physicians. She also educated teachers at the Aga Khan Academy in Tanzania about concussion recognition and how best to support and manage students with concussion.
“It was extremely rewarding to be able to finally complete my educational work in East Africa,” said Dr. Babul. “Through this work, there has also been interest in concussion education among colleagues in South Africa and Lebanon.”
Locally, Dr. Babul introduced concussion education into the UBC Faculty of Medicine Medical curriculum. In March 2022, the CATT for Medical Professionals course was taught for the first time to fourth-year medical students.
She is also involved in the working group to create a BC Clinical Practice Guideline on concussion. These guidelines will help BC health care practitioners diagnose and help their patients manage their concussion. The working group plans to submit the guideline to the Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee for review in Spring 2023.
Dr. Babul and her colleague at UBC Okanagan, Dr. Paul van Donkelaar, received a UBC HIFI grant in early January to pilot a virtual reality training tool to help police recognize signs and symptoms of brain injury from concussion and strangulation in intimate partner violence.
I am pleased with the work I was able to accomplish while on sabbatical. I’m excited to continue the projects that I started and am grateful for the connections I made while away, and the time I was able to spend with my family.”
Dr. Babul playing ball hockey for the first time with her daughter
Between all of this work, Dr. Babul made significant progress on manuscripts—with three published and two currently under review. She spoke to the media about concussions, and was featured in an episode of the Concussion Central podcast. She also discovered a new activity: pickleball, and completed renovations on her home.
“Overall, I am pleased with the work I was able to accomplish while on sabbatical,” said Dr. Babul. “I’m excited to continue the projects that I started and am grateful for the connections I made while away, and the time I was able to spend with my family.”
- distress when a child was in pain and when a family was grieving; and
- sadness in the event they were not able to save a child in their care.
- concern for the injured child and the child’s family;
Particularly traumatic events, such as those involving vivid sights and sounds (e.g., families holding each other and having extreme reactions), stuck with the practitioners, having long-lasting impressions on them and causing them to re-live these events in the years following their exposure.
Even after their shift was over, practitioners said that they changed how they approached parenting and how they perceived safety during play as a result of witnessing these traumatic events. They reported having more knowledge of the causes and consequences of severe injuries, such as those that require hospitalization or emergency care. For example, practitioners were more likely to enforce boundaries around where their children could play, such as by forbidding their child to play near busy streets. They also were more likely to tell their child about safe play environments and equipment, and put this equipment on their child before play, such as explaining the benefits of using helmets while riding bikes.
Practitioners were more likely to enforce boundaries around where their children could play, and use safety equipment, such as bike helmets.
Practitioners also described being concerned about their children’s play near open windows, around large bodies of water unsupervised, and in environments where firearms were present. They also expressed worry about their children’s play on trampolines and on motorized vehicles, such as ATVs. Findings related to trampoline play safety concerns were published in the journal Injury Prevention.
Observing family grief due to child injury or death affected the mental well-being of health care practitioners, drawing attention to the need for mental health supports for those involved in caring for severely injured and dying patients.
"Raise more resilient children through play...watch and see how your child handles challenging tasks without intervening right away." —Dr. Michelle Bauer
Building resilience through play
How can parents help their children build resilience? By letting them play!
The experiences that practitioners witnessed encouraged them to support their children in building resilience through play; specifically, by supporting children in learning to cope with failure, overcome fear, build self-confidence, develop distress tolerance, and regulate negative emotions. Findings related to building resilience through play were published in the journal Child: Care, Health, and Development.
Parents fostered resilience in their kids by:
- helping their kids get back on bikes after they fell off and wanted to try again;
- sitting on their hands so they did not instinctively reach for their children when their children fell down; and
- encouraging participation in challenging and thrilling activities in forests and water while safety equipment was used.
"There are a few ways that parents can raise more resilient children through play that are supported by literature and our study findings," said Dr. Bauer. "One: watch and see how your child handles challenging tasks without intervening right away."
"Two: Ask your child how they want you to help—let them tell you what makes them feel safe and happy during play. Let them lead. And three: make play both safe and exciting by encouraging risk-taking, teaching them how to avoid hazards, and using safety equipment.”
This research was supported through Drs. Bauer’s and Gilley’s receipt of a clinical and translational research seed grant from the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR), Dr. Bauer’s BCCHR postdoctoral fellowship award, and additional training provided to Dr. Bauer through her participation in the Programs and Institutions Looking to Launch Academic Researchers (PILLAR) program through ENRICH, a national organization training perinatal and child health researchers.
Learn more about the study through two infographic posters:
Graphics and posters by Milica Radosavljevic
