111 - Building a Safer Game: Elevating Concussion Literacy in Teenagers through Educational Sessions at Basketball Camps

Thursday, February 22, 2024

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM EDT

Presenting Author(s)

SF

Shane Fuentes, MD

Resident Physician
Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education
Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Co-Author(s)

TP

Thomas Pasquale, B.S.

MS4
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Endicott, New York, United States
CB

Christopher Bodurian, MD

Resident Physician
University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
AD

Alex Diamond, MD

Resident Physician
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States
CP

Clare Park, DO

Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York, United States
CP

Cara Prideaux, MD

Assistant Professor Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Residency Program Director
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Objectives: An estimated 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur annually, with adolescents having the highest incidence. Lack of concussion education may cause delays in treatment after injury or not seeking treatment at all, which puts individuals at risk for serious consequences, including severe concussions, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and second-impact syndrome. Concussion education has been identified as one of the greatest factors for concussion prevention and for optimal outcomes after injury.
Crossovers & Conversations, a medical student-run community organization that uses basketball as a platform to increase health literacy, hosted a free day-long basketball camp for teens at a community center that included an hour-long educational session to increase participants’ concussion literacy. This study describes the creation of the aforementioned program and assesses its efficacy.

Design: Programming was advertised using social media (@Crossovers_and_Conversations) and spots were filled on a first come basis. The concussion education was led by medical students and used the principles of positive youth development (PYD) to teach participants about concussions, including symptoms, prognosis, and the importance of recognition and adequate treatment. Participants actively discussed concussions using NFL quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who experienced multiple concussions, as a case study. After the session, participants completed anonymous Likert scale surveys, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Likert Scale questions were scaled 1-5 (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree).

Results: The program recruited 25 registrants aged 13-18, 16 of whom participated in the program. Participants found the session helpful (x̅=4.8125), and reported feeling more knowledgeable about concussions (x̅=4.1875), more likely to seek care after injuries consistent with concussions (x̅=4.3750), and more likely to wait for clearance before returning to play (x̅=4.5625).

Conclusions: Using sport-based PYD programming to educate teens about concussions is a novel, engaging, and effective way to increase adolescent concussion literacy.