An Assessment of High School Athletes’ and Coaches’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Concerning Concussion

Cerebral concussions are one of the most perplexing sports injuries to identify and manage. As a result, many of these injuries go unreported and untreated. Few studies to date have addressed the behavior of concussion reporting, specifically among young athletes. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to assess knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors concerning concussion using a pre-validated survey instrument. A convenience sample of 25 high schools participated in the study. Meetings were held at each school to explain the study and distribute the survey instruments to coaches and athletes. The Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior guided the direction of the study. A sample of 167 high school athletes (football, soccer, lacrosse, cheerleading) and 59 high school coaches completed the pre-validated survey instrument during the 2009-2010 school year. There was major under-reporting of concussive events with respondents indicating only 40% of concussion events and 13% of bell ringer events indicated had been reported. The major factors associated with increased reporting of recalled concussion/bell ringer event reporting and participating with concussions signs/symptoms in the sample of athletes included: 1) increased athlete concussion knowledge and attitude, 2) increased intention to report concussions, 3) increased positive influence form social referents, 4) decreased number of previous concussive injuries. No association was observed between school level coach knowledge/attitude scores and athlete knowledge/attitude scores. This study illustrates the multi-factorial issues concerning concussion in young athletes. The factors listed above could serve as the foundation for a multi-level intervention designed to improve concussion reporting and to decrease participation while experiencing signs and symptoms from concussion. The data obtained from this study illustrates necessary targets of future educational and behavioral interventions concerning concussion among high school athletes

Test-Retest Reliability of a Computerized Concussion Test: CNS Vital Signs

Neurocognitive testing is an important concussion evaluation tool, but for neurocognitive tests to be useful, their psychometric properties must be well established. Test-retest reliability of computerized neurocognitive tests can influence their clinical utility. The reliability for a commonly used computerized neurocognitive test, CNS Vital Signs, is not well established. The purpose of this study was to examine test-retest reliability and reliable change indices for CNS Vital Signs in a healthy, physically active college population

Epidemiology of Skin Infections in Men's Wrestling: Analysis of 2009–2010 Through 2013–2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association Surveillance Data

CONTEXT: Our knowledge of the current epidemiology of skin infections among wrestlers is limited. OBJECTIVE: To analyze and report the epidemiology of skin infections among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's wrestling student-athletes during the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 academic years. DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. SETTING: Aggregate skin infection and exposure data collected by the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Collegiate men's wrestling student-athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): All viral, bacterial, or fungal skin infections reported by athletic trainers at 17 NCAA programs were analyzed, providing 35 team-seasons of data. Skin infection rates per 10 000 athlete-exposures (AEs), rate ratios, skin infection proportions, and skin infection proportion ratios were calculated. RESULTS: The athletic trainers reported 112 skin infections contracted by 87 student-athletes across 78 720 AEs. The overall skin infection rate was 14.23/10 000 AEs (95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.59, 16.86). Of the skin infections identified, 22.3% (n = 25) were recurrent skin infections. Most skin infections (65.2%) were attributable to 5 team-seasons (range, 11-19 infections). Most skin infections occurred during the regular season (n = 76, 67.9%), were identified during practice (n = 100, 89.3%), and resulted in ≥24 hours' time loss (n = 83, 74.1%). The rate for viral skin infections was 1.72 times the rate for bacterial skin infections (95% CI = 1.09, 2.72) and 2.08 times the rate for fungal skin infections (95% CI = 1.28, 3.39). Fungal skin infections more often resulted in time loss <24 hours compared with all other skin infections (75.0% versus 12.5%; infection proportion ratio = 6.00; 95% CI = 3.30, 10.92). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the contagiousness of skin infections and suggest that skin infection rates may be attributable to high incidences among particular teams

Safe-Play Knowledge, Aggression, and Head-Impact Biomechanics in Adolescent Ice Hockey Players

Addressing safe-play knowledge and player aggression could potentially improve ice hockey sport safety

Motivations Associated With Nondisclosure of Self-Reported Concussions in Former Collegiate Athletes

Previous studies examining non-disclosure among athletes in various settings have found substantial proportions of athletes with undisclosed concussions. Substantial gaps exist in our understanding of the factors influencing athletes’ disclosure of sports-related concussions

Age-Related Differences and Reliability on Computerized and Paper-and-Pencil Neurocognitive Assessment Batteries

Neurocognitive testing is a recommended component in a concussion assessment. Clinicians should be aware of age and practice effects on these measures to ensure appropriate understanding of results

Dehydration and Performance on Clinical Concussion Measures in Collegiate Wrestlers

The effects of dehydration induced by wrestling-related weight-cutting tactics on clinical concussion outcomes, such as neurocognitive function, balance performance, and symptoms, have not been adequately studied

The Epidemiology of Severe Injuries Sustained by National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athletes, 2009–2010 Through 2014–2015

Few researchers have described the incidence of the most severe injuries sustained by student-athletes at the collegiate level

Characteristics of sports and recreation-related emergency department visits among school-age children and youth in North Carolina, 2010–2014

Abstract Background Sports and recreational activities are an important cause of injury among children and youth, with sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) being of particular concern given the developing brain. This paper reports the characteristics of sport and recreation-related (SR) emergency department (ED) visits among school-age children and youth in a statewide population. Methods This study included all injury-related visits made to all North Carolina 24/7 acute-care civilian hospital-affiliated EDs by school-age youth, 5–18 years of age, during 2010–2014 (N = 918,662). Population estimates were based on US decennial census data. Poisson regression methods were used to estimate incidence rates and rate ratios. Results During the five-year period, there were 767,075 unintentional injury-related ED visits among school-age youth, of which 213,518 (27.8%) were identified as SR injuries. The average annual absolute number and incidence rate (IR) of SR ED visits among school-age youth was 42,704 and 2374.5 ED visits per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 2364.4–2384.6), respectively. In comparison to other unintentional injuries among school-age youth, SR ED visits were more likely to be diagnosed with an injury to the upper extremity (Injury Proportion Ratio [IPR] = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.27–1.29), the lower extremity (IPR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.13–1.15), and a TBI or other head/neck/facial injury (IPR = 1.12; 95% CI, 1.11–1.13). Among ED visits made by school-age youth, the leading cause of SR injury was sports/athletics played as a group or team. The leading cause of team sports/athletics injury was American tackle football among boys and soccer among girls. The proportion of ED visits diagnosed with a TBI varied by age and sex, with 15–18 year-olds and boys having the highest population-based rates. Conclusions Sports and recreational activities are an important component of a healthy lifestyle, but they are also a major source of injury morbidity among school-age youth. Physical activity interventions should take into account sex and age differences in SR injury risk

Athletic Administrators Report of Emergency Action Plan Adoption in Secondary School Athletics: The Influence of Athletic Training Services

This study describes the emergency action plan (EAP) adoption in secondary school athletics reported by athletic administrators in the United States. Utilizing best-practice criteria, a questionnaire assessed athletic administrators’ knowledge and adoption of an EAP in their athletics program. A majority of athletic administrators reported having an EAP; however, the EAP often lacked the necessary components to be compliant with best-practice guidelines. Further, access to an athletic trainer was associated with increased EAP adoption and adopting a venue specific EAP. Athletic administrators should utilize these data to facilitate improved policy adoption and management of athletics programs