Consistency and Variation in School-Level Youth Sports Traumatic Brain Injury Policy Content

Coxe, Kathryn; Hamilton, Kelsey; Harvey, Hosea H.; Xiang, Joe; Yang, Jingzhen

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.07.003

Cited by 22 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(30 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Detailed information on recruitment, sample size, and data-collection procedures are reported elsewhere. 9 For the purposes of this study, only interviews from ATs were included and reported.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…20 They were uniquely positioned to implement return-to-play protocols and to contribute to return-to-play decisions due to their presence on staff, their background and training, and their personal knowledge of individual athletes' typical demeanor. 9 In addition, many states allow ATs to provide return-to-play clearance to concussed athletes. Often, although physicians are designated to provide clearance, an AT may override this decision and keep an athlete out of play longer.…”

Section: Tenet 2: Return To Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Qualitative Evaluation of High School Implementation Strategies for Youth Sports Concussion Laws

Davies

Coxe

Harvey

et al. 2018

Journal of Athletic Training

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context: All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws governing concussion management and education. These concussion laws, featuring common tenets regarding removal from play, return to play, and concussion education, have shaped school and district policies. Objective: To evaluate the strategies commonly used to implement concussion laws at the school and district levels, as reported by certified athletic trainers (ATs). Design: Qualitative study. Setting: High schools. Patients or Other Participants: We interviewed 64 ATs from high schools (1 per school) participating in High School Reporting Information Online. Data Collection and Analysis: Interviews were conducted with participants between April and October 2015 regarding implementation of the 3 core tenets of concussion laws. Research team members independently evaluated the interview transcripts and field notes to identify common themes in implementation strategies. Results: Of the 64 schools represented, 90.6% were public schools, 89.1% sponsored more than 15 sports, and all schools employed at least 1 AT and had a written concussion policy. Four commonly used strategies to implement removal from play were reliance on coaches, immediate response, referral and guidance after injury, and notification of key individuals. Use of assessment or baseline tests, communication among parties involved, reliance on AT assessments, and return-to-learn policies were 4 frequent strategies to implement return to play. Finally, 3 major implementation strategies to effectuate concussion education were use of existing educational tools, timing of education, and concussion training for school professionals. Conclusions: Although concussion laws were passed at different times and varied in content across states, common themes in implementation strategies emerged across jurisdictions. The identification of strategic approaches to implementation will help ensure proper concussion management and education, reducing negative health outcomes among youths with concussions.

show abstract

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tenet 2: Return To Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative Evaluation of High School Implementation Strategies for Youth Sports Concussion Laws

Davies

Coxe

Harvey

et al. 2018

Journal of Athletic Training

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conversely, the rest of the state laws made education optional, required only receipt of an information sheet about concussion, did not specify educational requirements, or lacked any reference to coach education related to concussions . At least one study suggests formal coach training related to concussions is uncommon . That study found that among 71 high schools, only one‐third had policies requiring formal education for coaches that addressed the recognition and management of concussion.…”

Section: Implications For School Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, some laws do not specify what athletes should be taught about concussion, and fewer than half of states require the inclusion of information about the risk of continuing to play after a concussion . Additionally, as mentioned previously, not all states require education for coaches . Therefore, schools and school districts seeking to reduce concussion risks and improve response to concussions may consider developing policies and practices beyond what is outlined in the legislation.…”

Section: Implications For School Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Schools with Youth Sports Concussion‐Related Educational Policies and Practices

DePadilla

Miller

Jones

2020

Journal of School Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND School policies and practices designed to educate athletes, parents, and coaches about youth sports concussions may be a way to reduce concussion risk and improve both the recognition and management of concussions. METHODS Nationally representative data from the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) were used to assess associations between school demographic characteristics (eg, school level, metropolitan status, and school type) and school policies and practices addressing youth sports concussion‐related education for athletes, parents, and coaches. RESULTS Overall, many schools had policies and practices that addressed youth sports concussion‐related education for athletes, parents, and coaches. There was significant variability in the adoption of policies and practices by some school demographic characteristics. Middle schools, private schools, and urban schools were less likely to adopt many of the policies and practices than high schools, public schools, and rural schools, respectively. For other school characteristics, no consistent patterns of associations emerged. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that middle, private, and urban schools, in particular, are more likely to lack youth sports concussion‐related educational policies and practices and may need information or resources about the importance of education related to preventing, recognizing, and responding to concussions.

show abstract

“…Previous studies have identified variations in the content 5,6 and implementation 7,8 of high school policies or state laws. In one national study of high schools participating in a nationwide sports injury surveillance program, all policies included at least 2 of the 3 key SRC law tenets, with the distribution of education information sheets only being included in 59.2% of the policies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Going Beyond the State Law: Investigating High School Sport-Related Concussion Protocols

Beidler¹,

Bacon

Hattrup

et al. 2020

Journal of Athletic Training

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context: State laws provide general guidelines for sport-related concussion (SRC) management, but do not comprehensively address the multiple layers of management for this complex injury. While high schools are encouraged to develop a SRC protocol that includes both state law tenets and additional management practices, the execution of this warrants examination. Objective: To investigate state law compliance and practice components included in high school SRC protocols, and determine whether the degree of sports medicine coverage influenced protocol quality. Design: Qualitative document analysis. Setting: High school athletics. Participants: In total, 184 Pennsylvania high schools [24.3% of schools statewide; full-time athletic trainer=149, part-time athletic trainer=13, missing=21] voluntarily provided copies of their protocol from the 2018–2019 academic year. Main Outcome Measures: Four athletic trainers conducted document analyses using a 67-item component analysis guide. Frequencies were computed for included protocol components related to the state law, preparticipation and prevention, recognition and assessment, and management. The difference in the total number of included components (max 60) by sports medicine coverage was assessed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Results: There was heterogeneity in components included in the submitted protocols. Only 23.4% included all mandatory state law tenets. Immediate removal from play was noted in 67.4% of protocols, while only 1.6% contained prevention strategies. Return-to-play was addressed more frequently than return-to-learn (74.5% versus 32.6%). The sample had a mean of 15.5±9.7 total components per protocol. Schools with full-time sports medicine coverage had significantly more protocol components than those with part-time athletic trainers (15 [8.5–22.5] versus 6 [3–10.5] median components; U = 377.5, p < .001) Conclusions: School-level written SRC protocols were often missing components of the state law and additional best practice recommendations. Full-time sports medicine coverage in high schools is recommended to increase SRC protocol and healthcare quality.

show abstract

Consistency and Variation in School-Level Youth Sports Traumatic Brain Injury Policy Content

Abstract: All 71 TBI policies covered at least two of the three youth sports TBI law tenets, but with considerable variation. Future research should assess variations by schools within the same state and their impact on TBI rates in school athletics.

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Qualitative Evaluation of High School Implementation Strategies for Youth Sports Concussion Laws

Qualitative Evaluation of High School Implementation Strategies for Youth Sports Concussion Laws

Characteristics of Schools with Youth Sports Concussion‐Related Educational Policies and Practices

Going Beyond the State Law: Investigating High School Sport-Related Concussion Protocols

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About