Sport-related concussion has been identified as a public health concern and in the last decade, concussion awareness has dramatically increased. The increased awareness of concussion is likely due to the media and recent research. Current literature on knowledge of concussion among high school athletes suggests that there is still a gap that exists between what high school athletes know about sport-related concussion and what they should know. Concussion knowledge of the signs and symptoms, as well as complications from concussions, is critical because many concussive injuries often go unidentified. Unidentified concussions and the under-reporting of concussions can lead to an increased risk of subsequent injury and long-term consequences in the adolescent athlete. OBJECTIVE: The current study evaluated knowledge of concussion and reporting behaviors in high school athletes attending urban and suburban schools and schools with and without an athletic trainer (AT). DESIGN: cross-sectional study SUBJECTS: 715 male and female high school athletes playing football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, boys’ and girls’ soccer, volleyball and gymnastics from 14 different schools. MEASUREMENTS: A one-time survey served as the instrument. RESULTS: Athletes attending urban schools have less concussion knowledge than athletes attending suburban schools; and, athletes with access to an athletic trainer have more knowledge than athletes that do not have access to an athletic trainer. Between group differences showed that white athletes have higher knowledge scores than African American athletes. The under-reporting of concussion is 55% and higher reporting percentages are influenced by school type and access to an athletic trainer, sex and sport. CONCLUSION: While concussion knowledge does not appear to affect reporting, there are significant differences in concussion knowledge in urban and suburban high school athletes and differences in schools with an AT and without an AT. The presence of an AT has shown to positively affect concussion knowledge and reporting behaviors within high school athletes.
Read
