Delivering Evidence-Based Online Concussion Education to Medical and Healthcare Professionals: The Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT)

Abstract

Background. Medical and healthcare professionals report an important gap in their training and knowledge on concussion diagnosis and management. The Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT) for medical professionals provides evidenced-based training and resources, representing an important effort to fill this gap. The goal of the current article was to summarize and describe the general uptake of the 2018 relaunch of the CATT for medical professionals and to present results of a quality assurance/quality improvement (QA/QI) assessment including qualitative feedback from medical and healthcare professionals. Methodology. Tracking completions via certificates and Google Analytics were used to measure uptake over the first two years following the 2018 relaunch and promotion of CATT for medical professionals. Medical and healthcare professionals who had completed the CATT from the time of the relaunch on June 11, 2018, to July 31, 2019, were invited via e-mail to participate in the survey-based QA/QI assessment. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Results. Year 1 saw 8,072 pageviews for the CATT for medical professionals landing page, increasing to 9,382 in Year 2. Eighty-nine medical and healthcare professionals who had completed the CATT for medical professionals participated in the QA/QI assessment. Results showed that 85% of respondents reported learning new information about concussion; 73% reported changing the way they diagnose, treat, or manage concussion; and 71% reported recommending the CATT to colleagues. Qualitative data also indicated highly favourable opinions and experiences. Conclusions. The CATT for medical professionals has demonstrated promise as a tool to promote knowledge translation practice and help fill the gap in concussion training and knowledge reported by medical and healthcare professionals.

Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of the Concussion Awareness Training Tool as continuing medical education in primary care

“…A growing number of patients are now seeking concussion care, as concussion continues to gain recognition as an important public health issue [ 16 ]; however, medical professionals have noted a lack of resources for optimal concussion management [ 6 , 17 ]. Given that optimal concussion management can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life, accurate and up-to-date concussion training and resources are essential for all medical professionals, and for family medicine physicians/general practitioners in particular [ 16 ].…”

“…The 2013 pre/post-intervention evaluation found a statistically significant positive change in physician practices following completion of the CATT (p < 0.01) [ 5 ]. A more recent quality assessment/quality improvement study of the CATT found that the majority of physician respondents reported the following benefits from using the tool: learning new information (85%), changing the way they diagnose, treat or manage concussion (73%); and recommending CATT to colleagues (71%) [ 6 ]. The tool consists of eight online concussion education modules, each tailored to a specific audience.…”

The Concussion Awareness Training Tool for Women’s Support Workers Improves Knowledge of Intimate Partner Violence-Caused Brain Injury

“…The CATT has been shown to be effective in significantly raising knowledge of concussion in healthcare professionals, and increasing their confidence in making informed decisions about the appropriate steps to take after a concussion has occurred. 16 …”

“…The CATT has been shown to be effective in significantly raising knowledge of concussion in healthcare professionals, and increasing their confidence in making informed decisions about the appropriate steps to take after a concussion has occurred. 16 The CATT-WSW (https://cattonline.com/womens-support-workers/) was developed to "provide women's support workers with the information they need to take an evidencebased approach in responding to and managing concussion" using evidence-based research on IPV-caused BIs. Because the CATT-WSW focuses on IPV, it was the first CATT module to incorporate strangulation, which is highly prevalent in IPV, and can lead to anoxic/hypoxic/ischemic BI, as well as having high levels of lethality.…”

Development of Policy-Relevant Indicators for Injury Prevention in British Columbia by the Key Decision-Makers

“…These include, among others, the institution of the B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU), the development of the Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum [9], Preventable [10][11][12], Road Safety Strategy 2015 and Beyond [13], Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT) [14,15], and Active & Safe Central [16]. One of the essential components required for successful and sustainable implementation of public health interventions includes the communication of accurate, timely, and concise information to decision-makers and other key stakeholders [17].…”