Talking with young children about concussions: an exploratory study

Abstract

Background Concussion education for children early in their participation in organized sport may help shape lasting attitudes about concussion safety. However, existing programming and research focus on older ages. Methods Qualitative interviews about concussions were conducted with twenty children between the ages of six and eight. Structural, descriptive and pattern coding were used to organize the transcribed interviews and identify emergent themes. Results Eighteen of the participants indicated that they had heard of the word concussion, with 12 describing the injury as related to the brain or head. The most frequently described mechanisms of injury were impacts to the head or falls, and symptoms tended to be somatic, such as generalized pain. The most frequently endorsed strategy to avoid sustaining a concussion was to ‘follow the rules.’ Multiple participants referenced parents as an informal source of information about concussions. Conclusions While most participants demonstrated some awareness about concussions, there were clear knowledge gaps that can be addressed with developmentally appropriate concussion education programming. Consistent with their developmental stage, interventions targeted at children in this age range may be most successful if they use basic logic, concrete ideas, provide rules to be followed and engage parents in dissemination.

Concussion Education in Children and Youth: A Scoping Review

“…Fifteen of the articles in this review discussed levels of concussion knowledge among children and youth who engage in sports (see Table 2 ). Two of the studies used qualitative designs ( Chrisman et al., 2013 ; Kroshus et al., 2017 ); the other 13 used quantitative methods—but notably, all studies used convenience sampling. Although findings varied, more of the studies found that children and youth had limited concussion knowledge or significant gaps in their knowledge.…”

“…Some of the studies also examined factors that may be associated with level of concussion knowledge: age, gender, and history of concussion. Three studies found that athletes aged 14 years and older had significantly better scores on concussion knowledge than younger athletes (Cusimano et al, 2009;Kurowski et al, 2014;Mrazik et al, 2015) although Kroshus et al (2017) highlighted that some younger children had a reasonable knowledge of concussion. Among the three studies that examined gender differences, there were consistent findings that females showed higher levels of concussion knowledge than males (Kurowski et al, 2014;Myrdal et al, 2017;Wallace et al, 2017).…”

Youth and high school sports coaches' experience with and attitudes about concussion and access to athletic trainers by sport type and age of athlete coached

“…The limited number of educational efforts tailored to athletes age 10 and under may be a contributing factor to these differences. An exploratory study by Kroshus, Gillard, Haarbauer-Krupa, Goldman, and Bickham (2016) identified knowledge gaps among young athletes and recommended the development of ageappropriate concussion education programming (Kroshus et al, 2016). Larger studies that assess the educational needs of the youngest athletes and their coaches, and an examination of age-appropriate concussion messages and educational materials is warranted.…”

Barriers and Opportunities for Concussion Communication and Management in Youth Sports: A qualitative study

“…While there was some hesitancy among participants, the athletes in our study mostly agreed they had a responsibility to report concussion symptoms on behalf of a teammate and they would expect their teammates to do the same for them. Kroshus et al (2016) also examined the role of teammates and concussion reporting behaviors. In this study, authors found that athletes who felt their teammates held positive views on concussion safety were more likely to state they would encourage their teammates to report their concussion (Kroshus, Garnett, Baugh, & Calzo, 2015).…”

“…This study explores a unique area of concussion research by focusing on opportunities to improve coach-athlete communication about concussion (Kroshus, Gillard, Haarbauer-Krupa, Goldman, & Bickham, 2016) and factors related to athletes' readiness to report concussion symptoms. The qualitative approach used allowed for in-depth discussions.…”