Pediatric sport-related concussion education: Effectiveness and long-term retention of the head safety in youth sports (HSYS) program for youth athletes aged 11–16

Abstract

Objective: The goals of this study are to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum for youth athletes and determine long-term retention in those who have previously participated. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Middle schools. Participants: 887 male and female sixth- through eighth-grade Physical Education students, ranging from ages 11 to 16 entered and 858 students finished the HSYS Program. Subjects (n = 29) were excluded if they did not complete their pre-workshop or post-workshop test. Interventions: The program is designed to be a 35–45 min workshop. Main Outcome Measures: Tests were administered before and after workshop participation to evaluate knowledge of concussion and response to head injury. Results: The aggregated pre-workshop and post-workshop mean test scores for participants from all five middle schools were 68% ± 2% and 85% ± 3%, respectively, which demonstrated significant improvement in test scores after participation in the HSYS Program (paired t-test, p < 0.0001). Analyzed individually, each school (MS1–5) demonstrated significant improvement between pre- and post-workshop mean test scores (paired t-test, p < 0.0001). On evaluation of long-term retention of the HSYS Program, students (n = 78) from MS3 who had previously participated in the program scored 7% higher than those students (n = 145) who had no prior exposure (unpaired t-test, p < 0.05). Conclusion: HSYS Program is a multifactorial curriculum that effectively educates students and provides long-term retention about concussion and head safety. The program engages youth athletes in understanding the significance of head safety and creates an opportunity to initiate this discussion and influence athletic behavior to improve head safety.

Keywords

• youth athletes
• concussion education
• long term retention