Dataset Information

Calling Injury Timeouts for the Medical Evaluation of Concussion: Determinants of Collegiate Football Officials' Behavior.

ABSTRACT: CONTEXT:? Sports officials can play an important role in concussion safety by calling injury timeouts so that athletic trainers can evaluate athletes with possible concussions. Understanding the determinants of whether officials call an injury timeout when they suspect a concussion has important implications for the design of interventions to better support officials in this role. OBJECTIVE:? To assess the knowledge of US collegiate football officials about concussion symptoms and to determine the associations between knowledge, perceived injunctive norms, and self-efficacy in calling injury timeouts for suspected concussions. DESIGN:? Cross-sectional study. SETTING:? Electronic survey. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS:? Of the 3074 US collegiate football officials contacted, 1324 (43% response rate) participated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):? Concussion knowledge, injunctive norms (belief about what others would want them to do), and behavioral self-efficacy (confidence in their ability to call injury timeouts for suspected concussions in athletes during challenging game-day conditions). RESULTS:? Officials reported calling approximately 1 injury timeout for a suspected concussion every 4 games during the 2015 season. Structural equation modeling indicated that officials with more concussion-symptom knowledge had greater self-efficacy. Independent of an official's symptom knowledge, injunctive norms that were more supportive of calling an injury timeout were associated with greater self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS:? Concussion education for officials is important because when officials are aware of concussion symptoms, they are more confident in calling injury timeouts. Beyond increasing symptom knowledge, fostering sports environments that encourage concussion safety can support officials in calling injury timeouts. Athletic trainers can help by educating stakeholders, including officials, about the importance of concussion safety. When officials believe that other stakeholders support concussion safety, they are more likely to call injury timeouts if they suspect a concussion has occurred.

SUBMITTER: Kroshus E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5737040 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Calling Injury Timeouts for the Medical Evaluation of Concussion: Determinants of Collegiate Football Officials' Behavior.

Kroshus Emily E Parsons John J Hainline Brian B

Journal of athletic training 20171108 11

<h4>Context</h4> Sports officials can play an important role in concussion safety by calling injury timeouts so that athletic trainers can evaluate athletes with possible concussions. Understanding the determinants of whether officials call an injury timeout when they suspect a concussion has important implications for the design of interventions to better support officials in this role.<h4>Objective</h4> To assess the knowledge of US collegiate football officials about concussion symptoms and ...[more]

PMID: 29140129

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Project description:Officiating in football depends, at least to some extent, upon adequate visual function. However, there is no vision standard for football officiating and the nature of the relationship between officiating performance and level of vision is unknown. As a first step in characterising this relationship, we report on the clinically-measured vision and on the perceived level of vision in elite-level, Portuguese football officials. Seventy-one referees (R) and assistant referees (AR) participated in the study, representing 92% of the total population of elite level football officials in Portugal in the 2013/2014 season. Nine of the 22 Rs (40.9%) and ten of the 49 ARs (20.4%) were international-level. Information about visual history was also gathered. Perceived vision was assessed using the preference-values-assigned-to-global-visual-status (PVVS) and the Quality-of-Vision (QoV) questionnaire. Standard clinical vision measures (including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and stereopsis) were gathered in a subset (n = 44, 62%) of the participants. Data were analysed according to the type (R/AR) and level (international/national) of official, and Bonferroni corrections were applied to reduce the risk of type I errors. Adopting criterion for statistical significance of p<0.01, PVVS scores did not differ between R and AR (p = 0.88), or between national- and international-level officials (p = 0.66). Similarly, QoV scores did not differ between R and AR in frequency (p = 0.50), severity (p = 0.71) or bothersomeness (p = 0.81) of symptoms, or between international-level vs national-level officials for frequency (p = 0.03) or bothersomeness (p = 0.07) of symptoms. However, international-level officials reported less severe symptoms than their national-level counterparts (p<0.01). Overall, 18.3% of officials had either never had an eye examination or if they had, it was more than 3 years previously. Regarding refractive correction, 4.2% had undergone refractive surgery and 23.9% wear contact lenses when officiating. Clinical vision measures in the football officials were similar to published normative values for young, adult populations and similar between R and AR. Clinically-measured vision did not differ according to officiating level. Visual acuity measured with and without a pinhole disc indicated that around one quarter of participants may be capable of better vision when officiating, as evidenced by better acuity (≥1 line of letters) using the pinhole. Amongst the clinical visual tests we used, we did not find evidence for above-average performance in elite-level football officials. Although the impact of uncorrected mild to moderate refractive error upon officiating performance is unknown, with a greater uptake of eye examinations, visual acuity may be improved in around a quarter of officials.

Project description:BACKGROUND:In recent years, sports leagues and sports medicine experts have developed guidelines for concussion management. The extent to which current clinical practice is consistent with guideline recommendations is unclear. At the collegiate level, there have been few examinations of concussion management practices and the extent to which meaningful differences across divisions of competition exist. PURPOSE:The purposes of this study were to (1) examine current practices in concussion diagnosis and management at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member colleges, (2) explore the extent to which current practices reflect current recommendations for concussion diagnosis and management, and (3) determine whether there are differences in management patterns across divisions of competition. DESIGN:Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS:An electronic questionnaire was sent to sports medicine clinicians at all NCAA member colleges during September and October 2013. Clinicians were asked about baseline assessments, diagnosis and management practices, return-to-play protocols, the perceived prevalence of underdiagnosis, and basic demographic information. RESULTS:Approximately 30% (n = 866) of contacted clinicians, representing nearly 50% (n = 527) of NCAA member colleges, responded to the questionnaire. Preparticipation baseline examinations were administered at the majority of schools (95%), but most (87.5%) administered baseline assessments only to selected high-risk athletes. Computerized neurocognitive testing and balance assessments were most commonly used as preseason baseline and postinjury assessments. Multimodal examination in line with NCAA and other guidance was used only at a minority of institutions. Athletic trainers most commonly administered and interpreted the preseason baseline examination. Most clinicians reported that their institutions' practices were in line with NCAA guidelines during the first 24 hours of an athlete's concussion diagnosis, with exact percentages varying across measures. Differences across divisions of competition included shorter return-to-play time at Division I schools than Division III schools (9.13 vs 10.31 days, respectively) and more frequently referring concussed athletes to a physician within 24 hours of diagnosis at Division I schools. CONCLUSION:Concussion management at many colleges in the United States incorporates elements recommended by current guidelines; however, there is room to improve. Increasing the use of a multimodal baseline and postinjury examination will elevate the concussion care provided to college athletes and better align with best practice guidance.

Project description:ImportanceDespite increased concern about the health consequences of contact sports, little is known about athletes' understanding of their own risk of sports-related injury.ObjectiveTo assess whether college football players accurately estimate their risk of concussion and nonconcussion injury and to identify characteristics of athletes who misestimate their injury risk.Design, setting, and participantsIn this survey study, questionnaires were given to 296 current college football players on 4 teams from the 3 of the 5 most competitive conferences of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association. Surveys were conducted between February and May 2017. Data were analyzed from June 2017 through July 2020.Main outcomes and measuresMultiple approaches were taken to compare athlete perceptions of their risks of concussion and nonconcussion injury with individual probabilities of these risks, which were modeled using logistic regression.ResultsOf 296 male college-aged athletes from 4 football teams who participated in the survey, 265 (89%) answered all questions relevant for this study. Participating teams were similar to nonparticipating teams across nearly all measured characteristics. One hundred athletes (34%) had sustained 1 or more concussions, and 197 (68% of the 289 who responded to the question) had sustained 1 or more injuries in the previous football season. Logistic regression models of single-season injury and concussion had reasonably good fit (area under the curve, 0.75 and 0.73, respectively). Of the 265 participants for whom all relevant data were available, 111 (42%) underestimated their risk of concussion (χ2 = 98.6; P = .003). A similar proportion of athletes (113 [43%]) underestimated their risk of injury, although this was not statistically significant (χ2 = 34.0; P = .09). An alternative analytic strategy suggested that 241 athletes (91%) underestimated their risk of injury (Wilcoxon statistic, 7865; P < .001) and 167 (63%) underestimated their risk of concussion (Wilcoxon statistic, 26 768; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceThe findings of this survey study suggest that college football players may underestimate their risk of injury and concussion. The implications for informed participation in sport are unclear given that people generally underestimate health risks. It is necessary to consider whether athletes are sufficiently informed and how much risk is acceptable for an athlete to participate in a sport.

Project description:This prospective controlled observational cohort study assessed the performance of a novel panel of serum microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers on indicators of concussion, subconcussive impacts, and neurocognitive function in collegiate football players over the playing season. Male collegiate student football athletes participating in a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) were enrolled. There were a total of 53 participants included in the study, 30 non-athlete control subjects and 23 male collegiate student football athletes. Neurocognitive assessments and blood samples were taken within the week before the athletic season began and within the week after the last game of the season and measured for a panel of pre-selected miRNA biomarkers. All the athletes had elevated levels of circulating miRNAs at the beginning of the season compared with control subjects (p?<?0.001). Athletes with the lowest standard assessment of concussion (SAC) scores at the beginning of the season had the highest levels of miRNAs. The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting pre-season SAC scores were miR-195 (0.90), miR-20a (0.89), miR-151-5p (0.86), miR-505* (0.85), miR-9-3p (0.77), and miR-362-3p (0.76). In athletes with declining neurocognitive function over the season, concentrations of miRNAs increased over same period. There were significant negative correlations with miR-505* (p?=?0.011), miR-30d (p?=?0.007), miR-92 (p?=?0.033), and (p?=?0.008). The miRNAs correlating with balance problems were miR-505* (p?=?0.007), miR-30d (p?=?0.028), and miR-151-5p (p?=?0.023). Those correlating with poor reaction times were miR-20a (0.043), miR-505* (p?=?0.049), miR-30d (p?=?0.031), miR-92 (p?=?0.015), and miR-151-5p (p?=?0.044). Select miRNAs were associated with baseline concussion assessments at the beginning of the season and with neurocognitive changes from pre to post-season in collegiate football players. Should these findings be replicated in a larger cohort of athletes, these markers could potentially serve as measures of neurocognitive status in athletes at risk for concussion and subconcussive injuries.

Project description:ContextMandated concussion education has aimed to improve student-athlete knowledge; however, some collegiate student-athletes continue to not disclose concussion. Concussion knowledge may not be the only factor influencing reporting, as student-athlete sex, sport, and pressure from external stakeholders (eg, coaches, teammates, fans, parents or family) have all been documented as influencing collegiate concussion-reporting behavior.ObjectiveTo examine factors associated with concussion nondisclosure in collegiate student-athletes.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingFour National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and two Division II universities.Patients or other participantsA total of 1125 collegiate student-athletes completed the survey, and 741 provided viable responses and were included for data analysis.Main outcome measure(s)We used a 10- to 15-minute electronic or paper-and-pencil survey that asked about personal and sport demographics, diagnosed concussions and nondisclosed concussion history, concussion knowledge, and level of agreement regarding pressure to play after a head impact experienced during collegiate sport participation. Significant univariable factors were entered into a multivariable logistic regression analysis.ResultsSex (P = .005), sport-risk type (P < .001), diagnosed concussion history (P < .001), concussion knowledge (P = .017), and pressure from coaches (P < .001), teammates (P < .001), fans (P = .024), and parents or family (P = .003) were factors associated with concussion nondisclosure in individual univariable logistic regressions. After we conducted multivariable analyses, male sex (P = .001), high concussion-risk sport participation (P = .048), diagnosed concussion history (P < .001), increased concussion knowledge (P = .013), and experiencing pressure from coaches to continue playing after sustaining a hit to the head (P = .002) were factors associated with concussion nondisclosure in collegiate student-athletes.ConclusionsOur results suggest that concussion-education programs should go beyond the identification of signs and symptoms to include the dangers of continuing to play, long-term consequences, and transparency about concussion protocols. Comprehensive concussion-education programs should involve coaches and athletes to improve the reporting culture.

Dataset Information

Calling Injury Timeouts for the Medical Evaluation of Concussion: Determinants of Collegiate Football Officials' Behavior.

Publications

Calling Injury Timeouts for the Medical Evaluation of Concussion: Determinants of Collegiate Football Officials' Behavior.

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