An Examination of Public Knowledge of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Almost three million traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are reported in the US annually. Concussions, also known as mild TBIs (mTBIs), are the most common and account for approximately 90% of TBIs annually. Research indicates confusion regarding the (1) symptoms, (2) mechanisms of injury, and (3) treatment and recovery associated with mTBI. This study sought to build upon previous research by investigating mTBI knowledge within these three domains.

Responses from 529 participants were collected from two groups: college students (n = 333) and the general public (n = 196). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire that included true/false items spanning the three domains of mTBI knowledge.

Overall, mTBI knowledge accuracy was 67%, with highest accuracy on items related to mTBI symptoms (78.77%), followed by mechanisms of injury (71.6%) and treatment and recovery (53.9%). College students had significantly higher mTBI knowledge accuracy, as well as higher accuracy on the mTBI symptom and mechanism items. There were no significant differences in knowledge of mTBI treatment and recovery between groups.

This study highlights the importance of mTBI education following an mTBI diagnosis. Explanations for these findings considering demographic and individual differences are provided, and clinical implications are discussed.