Annotated Bibliography

Kasper, C. E. (2015). Traumatic brain injury research in military populations. Annual review of nursing research, 33(1), 13-29.

The author of the article, Christin Kasper, highlights the background information of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among the military and soldiers since the ancient times when war began. The study aims at assessing the causes of the penetrating and concussive TBI during war, and how progressive medical treatment and research have prevented resulting deaths.

Kasper provides a brief description of the TBI incidences experienced through the war times. Through the 4000-2000 BCE war, the civil war, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the recent wars, soldiers have used various explosive devices, munitions and Armor that causes injuries around the neck face, and head; these cause TBI that could either be mild, moderate, severe, or penetrating (Kasper, 2015). The use of helmet by soldiers was invented during the 2000 BCE war to protect the head area from injury. However, there has been progressive improvement in the quality of these protective gears that have resulted to reduced the number of TBI incidents. The theoretical framework also captures the pathology of TBI. According to the author, the brain injuries diagnosed among soldiers is similar to that of athletes; they all present similar neuropathology including degeneration and axon dystrophy (Kasper, 2015). Unlike the ancient times when physicians and medical research were not aware of the symptoms of TBI, the current studies have resulted to discovery of various interventions including: enriched environments, behavioral stimulation, and drugs administration.

The study utilizes exploratory research to assess the key problem. Instead of providing a conclusive solution to the problem identified, the study explores the progressive advancement of TBI and how it has been diagnosed and treated over the years. The author analyses past studies done by other authors to explain and discuss the topic.

With the advancement in the medical field and research conducted by the TriService Nursing Research Program, the author concludes that the current incidents of TBI are detected early enough and treated before patients succumb to death. The study is relevant to the nursing field because it identifies a significant gap in the treatment of TBI and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There are still combat casualties and soldiers who die due to the late detection of TBI; there is, therefore, a need to find more interventions that can help to prevent this situation.