Prevalence of Suspected Concussions Among K-12 Students in Utah: Findings From Utah's Student Injury Reporting System

To inform prevention strategies, this study provides incidence, factors, and actions taken when a suspected concussion occurred in K-12 schools in Utah.

Data were collected using Utah's Student Injury Reporting System (SIRS) from the academic years 2011-2012 to 2018-2019. SIRS is a unique online system that tracks injuries that occur in the school setting among K-12 students in Utah. Descriptive statistics were computed to characterize students with a suspected concussion. Chi-square (χ² ) analysis looking at characteristics by school level was also conducted.

Over 63,000 K-12 students in Utah sustained an injury at school during the study period. Suspected concussions comprised 10% of all injuries. The prevalence of concussions was highest among males (60.6%) and elementary school students (42.6%) and most often occurred outdoors (57.6%) or on a playground/playfield (33.9%), and in sports- and recreation-related activities (75.1%) (specifically contact sports, 24.0%). Most students with a suspected concussion were absent 1 day or less from school (71.4%) but about 68% were seen by a medical professional. Further, there were differences by school level. Females and students playing contact sports had a higher percentage of suspected concussions as school level increased, whereas males and concussions sustained during school hours had a lower percentage of suspected concussions as school level increased.

SIRS enables schools in Utah to identify groups at risk for concussion, as well as activities most commonly associated with these injuries, within the school environment. Using this information, schools may implement targeted prevention strategies to protect students.