Rural High School Athletic Coaches' Concussion Knowledge

Emergency departments have seen a 60% increase in traumatic brain injuries (TBI) from sport and recreation in children and adolescents in the last 10 years. Multiple epidemiologic studies have suggested long-term cognitive deficits with repeated concussions. Many times coaches are the individuals primarily responsible for the care of these players at practice and games. In Idaho, 86.3% of high school football coaches felt it was their responsibility to identify concussions and 76.7% do not feel adequately trained to manage concussions (Faure & Pemberton, 2011). 60% reported not being offered any additional training for concussions and 98.6% would like to participate in an educational program about concussions (Faure & Pemberton, 2011). This project sought to identify deficits in rural Idaho high school athletic coaches' knowledge regarding concussion identification and treatment. The pre-test/post-test model was utilized. A questionnaire was given to the athletic coaches of 2 rural high schools in Idaho to establish baseline concussion knowledge. The objectives for this project were: Short term  Evaluate high school coaches' knowledge regarding concussion.  Provide instruction to further educate in areas found deficient.  Re-test to evaluate knowledge retention and effectiveness of instruction.  Leave presentation and contact information with athletic directors for further instruction. The results were gathered and the areas of deficiencies in the coaches' knowledge were identified. A presentation was developed for the individual schools and then given to the coaches to address the gaps in knowledge identified in the pre-test. Both schools showed an increase in concussion knowledge according to the results of the questionnaire given immediately following the presentation. Future Recommendations The findings of the study are scheduled to be presented to the respective school boards in May 2013. The athletic directors have a copy of the presentation and the recommendation that future educational presentations should be made to athletes, parents and all coaches during a pre-season meeting for each sport.