Dataset Information

Gender Differences in Concussion Reporting Among High School Athletes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An athlete's lack of concussion knowledge could lead to significant underreporting and injury mismanagement. To provide more effective management strategies of concussions in adolescent athletes, further examination of reporting behaviors is of critical importance.

Hypothesis

The hypotheses for this study were as follows: (1) Girls are more likely to report concussion, (2) girls are more likely to report future concussions after an educational intervention, and (3) a difference in rationale for not reporting concussion will be found between sexes.

Study design

Cross-sectional, cohort design.

Level of evidence

Level 3.

Methods

Survey answers were collected on 454 high school athletes (212 girls, 242 boys; mean age, 15.7 ± 1.15 years). Individual team meetings lasting approximately 30 minutes were held to collect data and provide an educational lecture. Participants were randomly provided an iClicker to submit a response to questions asked.

Results

Girls were more likely to report a concussion (?(2) = 8.32, df = 3, N = 454, P = 0.040) and more likely to report future concussions after educational intervention (?(2) = 8.54, df = 2, N = 454, P = 0.014). There were no differences between sexes regarding rationale for not reporting a concussion (?(2) = 6.42, df = 4, N = 454, P = 0.170).

Conclusion

There is concern these athletes still fail to understand the severity and potential sequelae of concussion injury. Both sexes cited that concussion is not a serious enough injury to warrant reporting to a medical professional.

Clinical relevance

High school athletes recover more slowly from concussions compared with college athletes; therefore, educating this population and promoting the importance of being knowledgeable regarding concussion recognition may increase reporting prevalence.

SUBMITTER: Miyashita TL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4922521 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Gender Differences in Concussion Reporting Among High School Athletes.

Miyashita Theresa L TL Diakogeorgiou Eleni E VanderVegt Christina C

Sports health 20160527 4

<h4>Background</h4>An athlete's lack of concussion knowledge could lead to significant underreporting and injury mismanagement. To provide more effective management strategies of concussions in adolescent athletes, further examination of reporting behaviors is of critical importance.<h4>Hypothesis</h4>The hypotheses for this study were as follows: (1) Girls are more likely to report concussion, (2) girls are more likely to report future concussions after an educational intervention, and (3) a di ...[more]

PMID: 27233957

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Project description:While awareness and understanding of concussion have improved drastically, post-concussion management in academic settings is still at its infancy. The aim of the study was to examine to what extent concussion influences academic performance and to whether there would be a difference in concussion effects on academic performance between high school and college students. This cross-sectional survey study included students, who were between 14 and 24 years old and sustained a sport-related concussion within the previous year. The study used a modified chain-referral sampling method, by distributing a questionnaire link to 3,000 randomly stratified athletic trainers, who worked in high school or college settings. These athletic trainers were then asked to forward the questionnaire link to students in their team, who have sustained a concussion within the previous year. The questionnaire recorded responses regarding demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, number of previous concussions); 22 concussion-related symptoms in a binary scale (presence/absence); perception of difficulties in math, reading, writing, computer use, and attention in a 5-point Likert scale; and asymptomatic duration of academic engagement in a 7-point Likert scale. There were 130 respondents with a history of concussion in the past year (n = 59 high school, n = 71 college). While recovering from concussion, significantly more college students (84.5%) reported "difficulty concentrating" than high school students (68.6%: p = 0.049). High -school students experienced more difficulty with math than college students (p = 0.002), whereas college students experienced more difficulty with reading (p = 0.013) and computer use (p = 0.026) than high school students. Asymptomatic duration of cognitive activity was influenced by age (p = 0.0004), where younger students were less tolerant in performing academic tasks after a concussion than older students. Our data indicate that concussions can induce negative symptoms in the academic setting regardless of age. The post-concussion difficulties in academic performance may be a grade-dependent manner, where concussions triggered difficulty in math among high school students and in reading and computer use among college students. It is clear that there is a need for guidelines and accommodations to support students with concussion in academic settings, and the guideline should reflect the age-dependent response to concussions.

Project description:ContextAlthough it has been suggested that developmental and sociological factors play a role in concussion reporting, the empirical evidence related to this is limited.ObjectiveTo examine the influences of sex, school level, school location, concussion-reporting history, and socioeconomic status on concussion-related knowledge, attitudes, and reporting intentions among middle school and high school athletes.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingMaster students and High School athletes attending pre-participation examinations (PPEs) were asked to complete paper-based surveys.Patients or other participantsOverall, 541 athletes representing 18 sports returned fully completed surveys.Main outcome measure(s)Outcomes were concussion-related knowledge, perceived seriousness, positive feelings about reporting, and self-reporting intentions. We examined group differences in these outcomes across levels of the explanatory variables of sex, school level (middle school versus high school), school location (urban versus rural), concussion self-reporting history (yes or no), and socioeconomic status (free or reduced-price lunch versus no free or reduced-price lunch) using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Then we used multivariable ordinal logistic regression models to identify predictors of higher score levels for each outcome. Odds ratio (OR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) excluding 1.00 were deemed significant.ResultsOdds of higher levels of knowledge were higher in urban versus rural school student-athletes (ORAdjusted = 1.81; 95% CI = 1.03, 3.17), and lower in student-athletes on free or reduced-price lunch versus those not on free or reduced-price lunch (ORAdjusted = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.36, 0.77). Similarly, odds of higher levels of seriousness were lower in male versus female student-athletes (ORAdjusted = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.32, 0.72). Further, odds of higher levels of self-reporting intentions were lower among male versus female student-athletes (ORAdjusted = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.37, 0.75).ConclusionsDevelopmental and sociological factors were differentially associated with concussion-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-reporting intentions. These results can inform medical providers, parents, and coaches with regard to context-specific clinical assessments of concussion symptoms.

Project description:ContextConcussions are a global public health concern, and education on the importance of self-reporting may not reach all athletes to the same degree around the world.ObjectiveTo determine if differences were present in the concussion awareness, understanding, and -reporting behaviors of collegiate athletes' in 3 countries with varied degrees of concussion publicity.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingCollegiate sports medicine clinics.Patients or other participantsCollegiate athletes in the United States (n = 964; high publicity), Ireland (n = 302; moderate publicity), and Jordan (n = 129; low publicity). The degree of concussion publicity was categorized based on the extent of national public health awareness initiatives, care guidelines, research publications, and mass media coverage.Main outcome measure(s)Participants completed a 10- to 15-minute survey on concussion awareness, understanding, and -reporting behaviors. The main outcome measures were concussion education (awareness; 21 options; select all sources of concussion information), concussion knowledge (understanding; maximum score of 49), and diagnosed/nondisclosed concussion history (reporting behaviors; self-report yes/no items).ResultsA higher proportion of Jordanian athletes reported never having received concussion information previously (73.6%) than Irish (24.2%) or US athletes (9.4%). Knowledge differed among countries (P < .0001, η2 = .28), with US athletes displaying higher total knowledge scores (40.9 ± 4.5) than Jordanian (35.1 ± 5.6) and Irish (32.1 ± 3.5) athletes. Greater percentages of Irish and US athletes reported a history of a diagnosed concussion (31.8% and 29.6%, respectively) and history of concussion nondisclosure (25.2% and 15.5%, respectively) than Jordanian athletes (2.3% and 0.0% for history of a diagnosed concussion and history of concussion nondisclosure, respectively).ConclusionsIn the United States, where concussion publicity is high, formal legislation exists, and sports medicine resources and concussion awareness and understanding were increased. More culturally appropriate concussion initiatives are needed globally to ensure that athletes around the world can identify concussive injuries and understand the dangers of continued sport participation while concussed.

Project description:BACKGROUND:There is an increasing concern over adolescent concussions in sports due to risks of long-term negative effects. This study analyzed data over three school years on reported concussion incidence rates by season, high school grade levels and gender, and reported symptoms by school nurses versus athletic trainers, from New Jersey student-athlete concussion data available from an online school-based surveillance system. METHODS:School nurses and athletic trainers reported 300 concussions within five days from when each occurred over three school years, 2015-2018, in team sports and physical education in New Jersey high schools. Analysis was further conducted on symptoms and number of symptoms reported by school nurses versus school athletic trainers for each documented student-athlete concussion. Estimated concussion incidence rates were calculated using state agency verified school enrollment data. FINDINGS:Concussions most commonly occurred during fall, followed by spring, then winter. Concussion incidence rates ranged from 6.3/1000 (4.99, 7.55) - 9.1/1000 (7.27, 10.98) students over the three school years of the study. Athletic trainers completed 86% of the reports while nurses completed 11% (position or title of 3%, or n?=?7, were not disclosed); the values were similar when considering only fall pre-season and regular season sports (88, 10, 2%, respectively). On average, across the three school years, athletic trainers reported about 3.5 symptoms per report while nurses reported 2.7 (values in fall seasons only were 3.7 and 3.1, respectively.) CONCLUSIONS: Certified athletic trainers, compared to school nurses, more often completed concussion report forms and reported more symptoms per injured student, perhaps due partly to closer contact and immediate care provided after injury. Additionally, this study had a higher concussion incidence rate during fall sports seasons compared to winter and spring. Future research can further improve our understanding of concussions among adolescent student-athletes to better inform concussion identification, management and recovery protocols.

Project description:BackgroundThe long-term effect of sport-related concussion on mood in adolescent athletes is largely unknown.HypothesisLongitudinal measures of depression will worsen acutely after sport-related concussion and improve with concussion symptom resolution.Study designProspective cohort study.Level of evidenceLevel 3.MethodsA population-based sample of 2160 high school athletes from 31 urban, suburban, and rural high schools completed preseason baseline concussion symptom evaluation and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) assessments over 2 years. Athletic trainers recorded onset of sport-related concussion, and concussed athletes completed the PHQ-9 assessment within 24 to 72 hours, 7 days, date of return to sport, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after sport-related concussion. Scores at each time point were compared to baseline with mixed-effects models and repeated-measures analysis of variance. Sex-based differences were assessed using mixed-effect models.ResultsOf the 2160 athletes enrolled in the study, 125 (5.8%; 80 males, 45 females) sustained a sport-related concussion. PHQ-9 scores worsened from baseline at 24 to 72 hours (+1.05; 95% CI, 0.26-1.84; P = 0.003) and 7 days (+0.91; 95% CI, 0.23-1.60; P = 0.006). However, PHQ-9 scores improved from baseline to date of return to sport (-1.38; 95% CI, -2.20 to -0.55; P < 0.001), 3 months (-1.08; 95% CI, -1.88 to -0.28; P = 0.003), 6 months (-1.19; 95% CI, -2.04 to -0.34; P = 0.001), and 12 months after sport-related concussion (-0.76; 95% CI, -1.43 to -0.08; P = 0.028). Female athletes reported more severe concussion symptoms 24 to 72 hours after sport-related concussion compared with male athletes (female, 20.5 [interquartile range (IQR), 10.0-36.2]; male, 9.0 [IQR, 4.0-19.5]; P = 0.003). Neither PHQ-9 scores nor change in PHQ-9 scores differed between male and female athletes at any time point.ConclusionSport-related concussion did not worsen longitudinal measures of depressed mood in this cohort of high school athletes.Clinical relevanceEmotional symptoms are common after sport-related concussion, but typically resolve by return to sport.

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Dataset Information

Gender Differences in Concussion Reporting Among High School Athletes.

Background

Hypothesis

Study design

Level of evidence

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Clinical relevance

Publications

Gender Differences in Concussion Reporting Among High School Athletes.

Similar Datasets

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