Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program: structure, methods and initial results

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Neurology
• Public Health

Background:

• Sport-related concussion is a growing research area, particularly in collegiate student-athletes.
• The Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program (CAP) was established in 2017 to address this issue.
• CAP is part of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) consortium.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve student-athlete health through better understanding of concussion.
• To identify factors influencing concussion incidence and recovery.
• To inform clinical practices and policy decisions regarding concussions.

Main Methods:

• A multisite, prospective, longitudinal study design.
• Enrollment of collegiate student-athletes with baseline and post-injury assessments.
• Data collection and quality control managed by a central coordinating unit and electronic health record software.

Main Results:

• The study enrolled 2181 student-athletes in its first year.
• 140 concussions were tracked during the initial phase.
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained for all research activities.

Conclusions:

• The CAP study is gathering crucial data on collegiate athlete concussions.
• Findings will contribute to evidence-based guidelines for concussion management.
• This research supports enhanced health and safety protocols for student-athletes.