Abstract
Introduction: The science of traumatic brain injury has evolved into a deep understanding of physiological mechanisms, injury identification, management, and prevention. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention rates concussion management, and prevention as an epidemic level of importance. In the USA, concussion affects between 1.6 and 3.8 million athletes per year. The primary aim was to provide substantiated recommendations for current best practice educational initiatives. The secondary aim was to determine if education alone as a prevention strategy for decreasing concussion rates in sport is successful. Furthermore, recommendations for future research have been provided.
Method of review: A comprehensive search using eight different search combinations, and a strict inclusion criterion was performed yielding 22 relevant articles that were published between 2001 and 2014.
Review outcomes: A summary of current literature on educational initiatives for concussion in sport has been presented.
Discussion: From this review, it appears a multifaceted educational strategy using videos and presentations,targeting youth, and coaches in high risk sports to be the most effective means of increasing knowledge and understanding of concussions in sport. However, there are many gaps in the literature that need to be addressed in order to identify the learning needs of different demographic groups. Additionally, the standardisation of concussion education through legislation may be beneficial in aiding reductions in related injury. However, there is insufficient evidence to claim that any single education method alone would be successful. Therefore, multiple educational strategies, legislation, and knowledge transfer may be preferable to target and assist those at risk of concussion.This review has highlighted the importance of concussion as a health concern and highlights the importance for health professionals to undertake research in this field
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8-22 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Fitness Research |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2014 |