An Interdisciplinary Clinical Forum
The Invisible Epidemic
Women experiencing mild traumatic brain injury may face persistent symptoms, delayed recovery and long-term consequences that are not adequately understood within current models of care. The Invisible Epidemic examines mild traumatic brain injury in women through three important clinical contexts: sport, interpersonal violence and military service. These are distinct experiences, but together they raise an important clinical question:
Given what we now know about mild traumatic brain injury in women, how should their assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and long-term care change?
The Clinical Contexts
Mild traumatic brain injury in women occurs across very different circumstances. This forum will examine three clinical contexts in which recognition, assessment and long-term care present distinct challenges.
Women’s participation in sport has increased dramatically, yet concussion research, diagnostic frameworks and clinical protocols have historically been based largely on male athletes. As participation in contact and collision sports grows, understanding how mild traumatic brain injury may present differently in women has become increasingly important.
Differences in symptom presentation, recovery patterns and hormonal factors may influence both the clinical course of concussion and how it is recognised and managed. Emerging evidence also raises questions about whether sex-specific physiological and biomechanical factors contribute to differences in injury risk and recovery.
Contact sport, collision sport and repetitive head impacts raise considerations that extend beyond the immediate injury. Return-to-play decisions, cumulative exposure, recurrent concussion and the potential for persistent symptoms require clinicians to consider not only safe recovery from an individual event but also the possible consequences of repeated injury over time.
SPORT
Women experience a disproportionate burden of head injury associated with interpersonal violence, yet mild traumatic brain injury may go unrecognised when immediate attention is focused on other physical injuries, safety and psychosocial concerns.
Repeated head impacts and episodes involving loss or alteration of consciousness can complicate recognition and recovery. Symptoms such as headache, dizziness, sleep disturbance, cognitive changes and emotional dysregulation may overlap with the effects of trauma, making assessment particularly complex.
The clinical response requires an understanding of both the neurological injury and the circumstances in which it occurred. Recognition, documentation, appropriate follow-up and continuity of care can influence both immediate management and longer-term outcomes.
INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
Military service presents distinct risks for mild traumatic brain injury, including blast exposure, weapons training, vehicle incidents, falls and repeated low-level impacts. Women now serve across a broader range of operational roles, yet much of the research informing military concussion assessment and recovery has historically centred on male service members.
Blast-related injury may also occur without a direct blow to the head, complicating recognition and diagnosis. Symptoms can overlap with sleep disturbance, vestibular problems, headache and psychological trauma, making it difficult to determine what is driving persistent impairment.
For women, sex-specific physiological and hormonal factors may further influence symptom burden and recovery. These differences raise important questions about diagnosis, return-to-duty decisions and the long-term consequences of repeated military-related brain injury.
MILITARY
About the Forum
The Invisible Epidemic brings together clinicians from different disciplines to examine mild traumatic brain injury in women through the shared clinical contexts of sport, interpersonal violence and military service.
Over three academic mornings, participants will explore how emerging evidence should influence the assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and long-term care of women experiencing persistent symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury.
This is not a traditional conference. There are no podiums, formal lectures or audiences. The forum is structured around small-group, case-based discussion, allowing each discipline to contribute its perspective to the same clinical questions.
The Interdisciplinary Approach
Mild traumatic brain injury does not fit neatly within a single speciality. Persistent symptoms may involve pain, cognition, balance, mood, sleep, physical function and hormonal health, while psychological trauma may further complicate presentation, assessment and recovery.
Each discipline may recognise and manage a different part of the clinical picture. When those perspectives remain separate, important connections between symptoms, injury history and long-term consequences may be missed.
The forum brings these perspectives to the same table to examine where approaches converge, where they differ, and how interdisciplinary discussion may change the way these women are assessed, treated and followed over time.
Forum Moderator
George J Arcos DO, FAOCA
Board-Certified in Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Miami, Florida
George J. Arcos, D.O. is a board-certified anaesthesiologist and pain medicine physician with extensive experience in the assessment and management of complex pain and neurological conditions.
His clinical and academic work has included traumatic brain injury, concussion and persistent post-injury symptoms, with particular interest in the interaction between neurological, physical and psychological factors that can influence recovery.
Fellowship-trained in bioethics, Dr Arcos was nominated by the American Osteopathic Association to the President’s Council on Bioethics. He holds five academic clinical faculty appointments and serves on the editorial boards of Pain Physician and Interventional Pain Reports. He is also a master trainer and lecturer for several neuromodulation device companies.
As Forum Moderator, Dr Arcos will guide the interdisciplinary discussion across the three academic mornings, bringing together the perspectives of participating clinicians and helping identify where a more integrated approach may change the assessment, treatment and long-term care of women with mild traumatic brain injury.
The Forum Experience
The forum is designed around three academic mornings of focused, interdisciplinary discussion. Twelve participating clinicians will work alongside the forum moderator in a small-group setting, with two tables of six creating an environment in which every participant contributes to the conversation.
Clinical cases and focused questions will provide the framework for discussion, allowing participants to examine how different disciplines assess and manage the same patient and where their approaches may intersect.
The small-group format is intentional. It creates the opportunity for clinicians to question assumptions, compare approaches and explore how knowledge from another discipline may influence their own clinical decision-making.
The Venue - The Richmond
The forum will take place at The Richmond Education & Event Centre on North Brunswick Street, Dublin, a landmark building with more than a century of medical history.
Built between 1899 and 1901 as the Richmond Surgical Hospital, the building formed part of Dublin’s historic medical quarter and remained in clinical use until 1987.
Today, The Richmond is home to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and serves as a centre for healthcare education, professional development and exchange. Its evolution from surgical hospital to the headquarters of an organisation representing nurses and midwives gives the building a continuing connection to healthcare and makes it a particularly fitting setting for this interdisciplinary clinical forum.
Dublin 2027
Dublin is a compact capital shaped by more than a thousand years of history, with historic universities, literary landmarks and a strong medical tradition all within a relatively small city centre.
The city has played an important role in the history of medicine and medical education. Institutions including Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland have been part of that history for centuries, while Dublin remains home to major teaching hospitals, universities and centres of clinical research.
Beyond the academic programme, participants will have time to experience the city itself. Dublin’s walkable centre brings together Georgian architecture, museums, galleries, restaurants, pubs and heritage districts, with the coast and surrounding countryside within easy reach.
September 1–4, 2027
Social programming for Dublin will be announced shortly, together with suggested pre- and post-forum itineraries for participants wishing to extend their time in Ireland.
Inscription
Participation is limited to twelve clinicians and is by application, allowing the forum to maintain the small-group, interdisciplinary format central to the programme.
Registration Fee: USD $680
The registration fee covers participation in the three academic mornings and all educational programming associated with the forum.
Travel, accommodation, meals and social programming are not included in the registration fee. Details regarding optional social programming will be announced separately.
On behalf of Forum Moderator Dr George J. Arcos and NEI Conferences, all surplus funds collected through registration fees will be donated to an organisation whose work directly relates to the subject of this forum. The organisation will be announced once selected.
Important Registration & Tax Information
NEI Conferences is a Canadian continuing education provider. The forum is a structured vocational education programme for practising clinicians, designed to update professional knowledge and improve interdisciplinary clinical assessment and management of women with mild traumatic brain injury.
The registration fee relates to participation in the educational programme. Any applicable tax treatment will be determined in accordance with the tax laws and requirements of Ireland.
Participants will be advised of any applicable tax charges.
Who We Are Bringing to the Table
The forum will bring together clinicians whose disciplines address different aspects of mild traumatic brain injury, persistent symptoms and recovery in women. Perspectives being considered for the table include:
Pain Management
Neurology
Rehabilitation Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Primary Care / Family Medicine
Sports Medicine
Vestibular Therapy
Neuropsychology
Mental Health
Endocrinology
Physiotherapy / Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Participation in the forum is by application and at the moderator's discretion. Clinicians requesting a place at the table will be asked to demonstrate a professional interest in mild traumatic brain injury in women and how their clinical perspective can contribute to the interdisciplinary discussion. The final composition of the forum will be selected to ensure an appropriate balance of disciplines, experience and perspectives.
Continuing Education
The academic programme is being developed as an accredited continuing education activity for participating healthcare professionals. Accreditation details, including the number and type of continuing education credits available, will be announced as the programme is finalised. Participants will be required to attend and actively participate in the academic sessions in accordance with the requirements of the accredited programme.
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