Canadian High School Coaches’ Experiences, Insights, and Perceived Roles With Sport-Related Concussions

Abstract

There is a need to improve concussion education and prevention efforts for youth athletes and those responsible for their care. The purpose of this study was to understand Canadian high school coaches’ insights and perceptions of concussions. Using a case study design, eight high school coaches were interviewed and the data were analysed using a hierarchical content analysis. Findings indicated that participants primarily acquired information about concussions through their own experiences as athletes and parents, and from reports in the sports media. The coaches’ felt their role with concussions was to teach athletes safety techniques during practices and competitions and to encourage them to accurately report their concussion symptoms. In addition, participants forwarded a number of recommendations to improve the dissemination of information to coaches. Results from this study will add to a limited body of concussion research with youth sport coaches. Participants’ insights provide researchers and clinicians with information about coaches’ perceived role with sport-related concussions.

Exploring the unique challenges faced by female university athletes experiencing prolonged concussion symptoms.

“…For example, female youth ice hockey athletes in McGuckin and colleagues’ (2016) study reported that their coaches exhibited supportive (i.e., did not rush them to return to play) and protective (i.e., reinforced gradual return-to-play concussion protocols) behaviors after they sustained a concussion. Similarly, Caron and colleagues (2015) found that high school coaches created positive sport environments by teaching preventative measures such as safe checking and tackling techniques and by supporting and adhering to athletic therapists’ decisions about concussion return-to-play protocols. On the other hand, Baugh, Kroshus, Daneshvar, and Stern (2014) noted that some collegiate coaches might have a disincentive to encourage their athletes to report concussions, given the implications it might have on team success (and their livelihood).…”

Context Matters: Revisiting the First Step of the ‘Sequence of Prevention’ of Sports Injuries

“…Qualitative methods can address gaps in our understanding of a process and can provide a contextual perspective on the problem, yielding insights not previously studied [ 37 ]. Qualitative methods are becoming increasingly prevalent in medical research, however qualitative research has been limited in the sport injury prevention area [ 38 – 43 ]. Qualitative methods provide ways for researchers to explore and explain contexts, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of many aspects of health [ 44 ].…”

“…Many pieces of the puzzle are missing because of the limited understanding of the complexity of the sport context in which an injury occurs. Prior to measurement and quantification of the problem, qualitative methods can explore this context and describe in-depth insights, based on the perspectives of athletes, coaches and health providers [ 38 , 41 – 43 ]. Their view might provide a better understanding of injury occurrence and a more comprehensive way to describe the ‘sports injury’ problem.…”

Aristotle’s entelechy and eudaimonia in sports

“…In the sports field, which is considered as a life's microcosm, sportsmen engage into sports for different reasons, among which, the need to fulfil their unmet athletic prospective (Caron, Bloom, & Bennie, 2015;Kidman, 2005;Stec, 2011). Simon (1991) remarks that, sports competitiveness utopically, may be endorsed as a mutually accepted pursuit for excellence wherein antagonists collaborate to draw the best out in one another.…”