Background/Purpose Questions regarding concussion injuries in sport have recently become an important topic; however, limited attention has been given to parental knowledge about the etiology of concussions, the signs and symptoms of concussions, and the management of concussions. The purpose of this study was to examine what parents of youth sport athletes know about recognition, assessment, and management of a concussive injury.
Method A cross-sectional design utilizing an electronic questionnaire was emailed to 445 parents of youth sport athletes associated with two separate gymnastics organizations in a local metropolitan area. Eighty-nine parents completed the questionnaire measuring outcomes of parental knowledge of concussion etiology, the ability to correctly identify concussive signs or symptoms, and knowledge about concussion management following a diagnosis of a concussion.
Analysis/Results Parents of youth sport athletes with previous medical background or medical training versus those parents without any type of medical background or training significantly differed with their knowledge regarding concussion etiology, t(87) = 3.25, p < .01, while no significant differences resulted between the two groups in the knowledge areas of concussion signs and symptoms, or concussion management.
Conclusions Results of this study indicate that parents of youth sport athletes still lack important information needed to identify some of the causes of a concussion, the signs and symptoms of concussions, and certain aspects involving management of a concussion. Parents of youth sport athletes must continue with efforts to educate themselves about all aspects of concussive events.
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