BACKGROUND Many organizations and health care providers support educating high school (HS) athletes about concussions to improve their attitudes and behaviors about reporting. The objectives of this study were to determine if previous education, sport played, and individual factors were associated with better knowledge about concussion and to determine if more knowledge was associated with improved self-reported attitudes toward reporting concussions among HS athletes. METHODS We conducted a survey of HS athletes aged 13 years to 18 years from two large, urban HSs. Players were recruited from selected seasonal (fall and winter) as well as men and women’s sports. During preseason, each participant was given a survey asking about his or her previous education, current knowledge, and self-reported attitudes and behaviors about reporting concussions. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate the association of age, sex, sport, and previous concussion education with knowledge and self-reported attitudes and behaviors about reporting concussions. RESULTS Surveys were completed by 496 athletes. The median age was 15 years, and 384 (77.4%) were male. A total of 212 (42.7%) participated in football, 123 (24.8%) in soccer, 89 (17.9%) in basketball, and 72 (14.5%) in wrestling. One hundred sixteen (23.4%) reported a history of concussion. Improved knowledge regarding concussions was not associated with improved self-reported behaviors (p = 0.63) in bivariate regression models. The multivariate model demonstrated that older age (p = 0.01) and female sex (p = 0.03) were associated with better knowledge. Younger age (p = 0.01), female sex (p = 0.0002), and soccer participation (p = 0.02) were associated with better self-reported behaviors around reporting concussions. CONCLUSION Previous education on concussions was less predictive of knowledge about concussions when controlling for other factors such as sport and sex. Younger age, female sex, and soccer participation were more likely to be associated with better self-reported behaviors. Future studies need to focus on the development of interventions to improve concussion-specific knowledge and behaviors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Epidemiologic study, level III.

Background The benefit of preseason concussion education on athletes’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors is unclear. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of preseason concussion education on knowledge and self-reported attitudes and reporting behaviors. We hypothesized that preseason education would lead to better knowledge and self-reported attitudes and better reporting of concussion symptoms during the season. Methods Prospective cohort comparing the benefits of a preseason lectured-based concussion education session at one high school with a control school. Participants included males and females age 13–18 years from two community high schools who were participating in higher concussion risk, fall or winter sports (football, soccer, wrestling, and basketball). The education school and control school included 234 and 262 participants, respectively. Outcomes were a pre- and post-season survey assessing knowledge and self-reported attitudes about concussions and an end of season questionnaire assessing concussion reporting behaviors during the season. Results Total scores on the combined (p<.0001), knowledge-based (p=.016), and behavioral-based (p<.0001) questions demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the education group. Scores peakedimmediately post education, but dissipated at the end of the season. There was a lower proportion in the education school (72%) compared to the control school (88%) that reported continued play despite having concussion symptoms during the season (p=.025). A similar proportion of athletes diagnosed with concussion during the season in the education (27%) and control schools (23%) reported returning to play before symptoms resolved (p=.81). Conclusion These findings suggest that a didactic-based preseason concussion education likely has minimal benefits. Other factors besides knowledge are likely influencing student-athlete concussion reporting behavior. Future research focused on changing the culture of concussion reporting is needed.

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