1. Concussion Training Programs in High School Athletics
Hailey Watkins, Jennifer Wanta, Erin Lyman, Abigail Vrabel, & Lynn Gilbertson, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Introduction
The goal of the current project was to evaluate the status of concussion-training programs for high school athletic programs in Wisconsin since the enactment of Act 172 statute 118/293 (WI concussion and head injury law). Per this statute, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) were required to develop guidelines and information for educating athletic coaches, athletes, and their guardians about concussion and head injury.
Research Questions:
Are schools implementing concussion training programs?
Do programs differ based on demographics of the school district?
What content is included in concussion training?
Who is being trained?
Results:
19% of schools had no resources available on website (Mostly private schools)
Most common content included signs and symptoms (43% of schools)
Least common content included return-to-learn (11% of schools)
Majority of content was for parents and athletes (Athlete Parent Agreement Form was most common digital resource)
Stage 1: Website Resource Review
School districts were selected through the Department of Public Instruction’s public and private school online directories.
97 total schools were randomly selected
23 urban public schools
28 rural public schools
24 urban private schools
22 rural private schools
Website resources for all 97 schools were reviewed for access and content of concussion training materials.
Results:
75% reported an established concussion training program
Programs used a combination of brochures, meetings and websites for training
44% reported no assessment of retention of training info
Barriers to training implementation included finances, staffing, and access to information
Stage 2: Follow-Up Interviews
All 97 districts were contacted to complete questions about concussion training protocol.
Main areas of inquiry were (1) what type of training is available, (2) who is being trained, and (3) what factors led to the selection of the training paradigm.
12 out of 97 districts responded
2 athletic directors and 10 athletic trainers responded
Most of the responses were from rural public schools (41%)
Future Applications:
Advocate for change in legislation to implement universal concussion training program in Wisconsin high schools, regardless of size, public or private, and access to resources.
Broadening content of training to include awareness of the impact of concussion on academic performance, language, and social interactions.
Include teachers in concussion training as they may be the first to notice changes in academic performance and are situated to advocate for academic supports.
Conclusions:
Even though the WI concussion and head injury law requires concussion training, an estimated 19-25% of schools do not have programs in place. The majority of the school districts that are lacking training programs are private schools.
Training programs largely focus on signs and symptoms of concussion. Most of the web based materials are geared toward training parents and athletes while the majority of the athletic trainers reported coaches as the most frequent focus of training and assessment of concussion knowledge.
The majority of programs were selected because of the legislative mandate or WIAA standards. Schools that did not have programs reported resources and staffing as barriers.
Acknowledgements
Undergraduate Research Program for funding the current project
Athletic Directors and Trainers for their time and participation