Concussion knowledge in high school football players

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Neurology
• Public Health

Background:

• Concussions in sports pose significant risks, yet athletes' lack of knowledge may deter symptom reporting.
• Florida legislation introduced parental consent forms to enhance concussion education for high school athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the concussion knowledge of high school varsity football players post-legislation.
• To determine if new educational initiatives improved athlete awareness of concussion symptoms and consequences.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 334 varsity football players from 11 Florida high schools.
• Descriptive survey administered in person, assessing identification of concussion symptoms and consequences.
• Participants reported sources of concussion education (parental, formal, or none).

Main Results:

• Most players correctly identified headache, dizziness, and confusion as symptoms.
• Persistent headache was the most recognized consequence; severe outcomes like brain hemorrhage were poorly identified.
• While 54% received parental education and 60% formal education, 25% reported no education; no correlation found between education source and knowledge.

Conclusions:

• High school football players demonstrate inadequate knowledge of concussion symptoms and consequences.
• Key symptoms (e.g., nausea, difficulty concentrating) and severe consequences (e.g., coma, death) were frequently missed.
• Parental consent forms did not ensure adequate concussion awareness, with 46% of athletes reporting no discussion with parents.