Promoting the Development of Evidence-Based Concussion Education for Power-5 Collegiate Athletes: The Influences of Organizational Elements on Perceived Vestedness

Abstract

Concussions present a significant health concern for collegiate athletes, team leaders, and university administrators. The consequences of these injuries can affect athletes’ scholastic and athletic performance in the short term, and manifest later in life, long after their athletic career ends. Present educational efforts are ineffective because they neglect important influences on athletes’ decisions to report potential concussion injuries. Here, we present research that examines organization-based influences on vestedness in attitudes related to athletes’ perceived risk of concussion consequences and team commitment. Examining a sample of 435 collegiate athletes from 11 universities, participating in six Division I/Power-5 conference high-concussion-risk sports, our findings support that organizational-based perceptions exert influence on these key concussion–related variables. In synthesizing the results, we offer evidence-based recommendations that organizational members can use to create environments that promote concussion injury reporting and adherence to recovery protocols. This research contributes to the growing body of literature calling for the development of educational concussion injury education modules that recognize contextual influences grounded in communication theory and provide a persuasive impetus.