Sports-related head injuries in students: parents' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions

The short- and long-term neurologic impairment of children sustaining sports-related head injuries has recently entered the forefront of medical literature, resulting in new guidelines on concussion management being provided to clinicians, coaches, and trainers. Yet, most parents have not been formally educated on head injuries. The purpose of this article is to share the findings of a study conducted with 235 parents that identified their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of sports-related head injuries in school-age students. The study found that 51% of respondents were unaware that head trauma was more serious in children, 80% were uninformed as to whether the school district had a policy on sports-related head injuries, 44% did not know if there were medical guidelines for return to play, and 35% did not know that repeated head trauma could cause dementia. Results of this research implore school nurses to improve patient and parental education when they care for and monitor students with head injuries.