| Description |
This project consists of a series of interventions to implement a cost effective concussion prevention, recognition, and management program at a local system of charter schools. Concussions are a common injury among children and adolescents with a significant potential for long-term harm. Every concussion is a brain injury. Appropriate prevention, recognition, and response in the school setting is an important way to reduce the burden of harm. The reported incidence of concussions has risen steadily in the last 15 years in children and adolescents. There is a substantial public knowledge gap about mechanism of injury, symptoms, treatment, and long-term complications. Concussion symptoms evolve over several hours or days, and often initially go unrecognized and therefore undertreated. Children and adolescents typically take longer to recover than adults, and may experience decline in school performance due to persistent symptoms. Laws in all 50 states mandate removal from play and concussion programs for schools and sports, however there is little specification about what the programs should include and many programs are inadequate. Objectives for this project are as follows: • Implement pre-season baseline coordination and cognitive testing for student athletes • Initiate prevention, recognition and management program for aides, coaches, and staff • Educate teachers and nurses about responding to the unique needs of students returning to school after a concussion injury • Increase education to students and families regarding prevention and recognition of concussion • Disseminate findings To accomplish the first three objectives, blended learning training modules were created based on information from the Center for Disease Control's HEADS UP program and the SCAT3 assessment tool. These included original video, interactive powerpoint presentations, reference hand outs, and templates for documentation. The school nurses were trained in baseline assessment technique, demonstrated appropriate competency, and successfully implemented the assessment on a total of 54 student athletes. The head school nurse was mentored through the first of three presentations for both the second and third objectives, and all were completed. Six educational summaries were included in the school newsletter and distributed to the parents. Students attended an assembly on head injury prevention and participated in a poster contest to raise awareness about signs and symptoms of a concussion and prevention strategies. All training materials and templates were gathered into a toolkit and distributed to the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools. A summary article was written and submitted to the Journal of School Nursing. Everyone is at risk for concussion. As a population health promotion strategy, this program reduces preventable morbidity and mortality, addresses risk factors, and creates a sustainable structure for intervention and management in the future. Student health is a critical factor in academic success, and requires a partnership between the student, families, faculty, and staff. |
