Babul, Shelina

Dr. Shelina Babul

Dr. Shelina Babul’s journey to become a North American leader in concussion recognition, response, management and prevention began over a decade ago, in response to parents of children with concussions, looking for answers. They had left the health care system feeling confused, frustrated and scared; and without any better understanding what was wrong with their child.

Concussion is the most common form of head injury, yet it is widely under-recognized and under-reported. Shelina quickly recognized that this was a significant public health issue, as many healthcare providers did not know how to identify or respond to concussions. Nor did they know the proper protocols to follow. How a concussion is handled in the minutes, hours and days after injury can significantly influence the extent of damage and recovery. They key to successful recovery for the patient is the immediate accurate detection, diagnosis and expert follow-up.

In response to this healthcare gap, Shelina utilized her knowledge and training in the UBC School of Kinesiology and her experience as a sport injury specialist. After completing an indepth environmental scan and conducting numerous focus groups, she launched the Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT), in 2013. CATT is a comprehensive resource that contains evidence-based concussion information for medical professionals, workers, coaches, school professionals, parents, caregivers, and athletes. Shelina’s philosophy for proper concussion management involves an individualized approach to symptom management, as no two concussions are alike. CATT was designed to empower the patient and their support systems to take an active role in their own recovery from this invisible injury.

Currently Shelina is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UBC and is the Associate Director, Sport Injury Specialist, BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit at BC Children’s Hospital.

To improve your knowledge on good concussion management, visit cattonline.com
To follow more of Shelina’s work, you can follow her on Twitter @cattonline or @sbwellr