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 Based on 89 peer-reviewed articles, two books and two Web sites,
researchers say the most successful approaches included
interactivity and varied kinds of presentations and were part of
mandated training or legislation, according to their report online
August 25 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
“We recommend that everyone involved with the athlete (coaches,
parents, athletic trainers, physicians) be involved. It's not just
the athlete,” the paper's lead author, Dr. Martin Mrazik from the
University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, told Reuters Health by
email.
Educational efforts should be informed by updated guidelines such as
those published in 2013 in the same journal, Dr. Mrazik said
(available here: http://bit.ly/1JTmuGx). He also recommended caution
in using online guidelines that have not been internationally
approved.
Few studies reported on the efficacy of educational campaigns, and
that may be a problem, the researchers write. There are more Web
sites, social media and mobile device applications than reviews of
those sources of information, and there is a danger that they might
be propagating misconceptions, the researchers write.
Surveys show between 25% and 60% of hockey players continue to play
even when they have symptoms of concussion, the researchers note.
Athletes may also tend not to report concussions when they happen.
When anonymously surveyed, hockey players said they had suffered
concussions 30 times more often than the official injury reports
indicated. Unreported concussions ranged from 20% to 50% among
college football, hockey, soccer and rugby players.
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“Their conclusion is consistent with my work evaluating existing
concussion education programs,” Dr. Emily Kroshus, an assistant
professor at University of Washington in Seattle, said of the new
work.
“This does not mean that concussion education itself is an
ineffective concept, but that current approaches have tended to be
designed in a way that they are not targeting and changing
attitudes/beliefs that are actually driving concussion reporting
behavior,” she told Reuters Health by email.
More research on the efficacy of different educational programs is
needed and the programs themselves should be improved, the
researchers write.
“Education is not just informing, it's changing behavior.
Understanding athlete behavior (the hesitancy to report injury, peer
pressure, times in the year when they are less likely to report) is
a key component of improving athletes perceptions and reporting
behaviors when it comes to concussions,” Dr. Mrazik said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1Oh8s5v
Br J Sports Med 2015.
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