Original articleExploration of Awareness, Knowledge, and Perceptions of Traumatic Brain Injury Among American Youth Athletes and Their Parents
Section snippets
Methods
Online surveys were conducted with youth ages 13–18 years who participate in sports, and with the parents of children and youth ages 5–18 years who participate in sports, to explore the ways in which these audiences view concussion and messaging related to concussion. Sample sizes were developed to split both youth (i.e., approximately 125 per youth athlete age group, ages 13–15 and 16–18) and parents (i.e., 100 per child age group, ages 5–9, 10–13, and 14–18) samples by age of youth/child.
Results
The online survey for youth was completed by 252 athletes aged 13–18 years. The parent online survey was completed by 300 parents or guardians of youth ages 5–18 who participate in sports.
Discussion
This article is believed to be one of the first investigations of the awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of concussion among American youth athletes and their parents. The findings are promising in many ways. For instance, this study demonstrates that efforts to raise awareness about concussion in youth sports are making an impact. Most youth in this sample said they had heard of concussions, believe them to be a “critical issue,” and do not believe their friends would think they are “dumb”
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Contract no. 200-2007-20009, Order 0014. The authors would like to thank Sanda Pecina, of FHI 360, for her contributions to the project.
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