A one day international workshop on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Rehabilitation was held at Mianzhu People’s Hospital, Mianzhu County, Sichuan. The workshop was jointly organized by the Disaster Health Sciences Team from the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR) of Sichuan University, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia, and Mianzhu People’s Hospital.

The IDMR team included Prof. Dr. Jan D. Reinhardt, Dr. Hao Li and Dr. Joseph K. Balikuddembe. Prof. Mary Galea represented the Royal Melbourne Hospital while a different stakeholder from the Mianzhu People’s Hospital who included the Vice President of the hospital Dr. Chen, and the Director of Rehabilitation Dr. Zhengen Zhao. The opening of the workshop was also accompanied by a speech of the Secretary of the Rehabilitation Society of Sichuan Province. Over 200 participants including hospital staff, medical and nursing students from all of Deyang prefecture took part in the workshop. Based on the workshop’s theme, the keynote speakers delivered topics on the Epidemiology of TBI in China (Prof. Jan D. Reinhardt), Rehabilitation Needs of patients (Dr. Hao Li) as well as Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Management of contractures and spasticity after TBI (Prof. Mary Galea).

Two unique TBI cases (patients with severe spasticity and contraction) were presented by Dr. Zhao and Prof. Galea and other participants shared their opinions on possibilities for their rehabilitation treatment. Moreover, participants were asked to evaluate the workshop and to give their views regarding the past, present and future needs of patients with TBI through interviews (conducted by Dr. Balikuddembe). At the end of the workshop, Prof. Galea and the IDMR team visited the hospital rehabilitation ward (to interact and observe how some patients were receiving their rehabilitation therapies).