Study by UTA professor shows many parents in the dark about concussions

The University of Texas at Arlington News Releases



Dr. Cynthia Trowbridge

Despite the large volume of information about sports related concussions on the Internet, many parents and guardians of young athletes have a limited understanding of concussions, according to a study co-authored by a faculty member of UTA’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation. 
In the study, which was published in May in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Research, Cynthia Trowbridge, an associate professor of kinesiology and athletic trainer, and co-author Sheetal J. Patel of Stanford University, found that a significant number of caregivers have a limited understanding of concussions and their impact on a child’s future.
“They did understand that it’s a severe injury but they didn’t understand how susceptible patients are,” said Trowbridge, a noted expert on concussions in middle and high school athletes. “We found out that despite the fact that all parents had read some brochure or seen some TV show about concussions they had a low self efficacy about awareness. They tended not to know that concussions are associated with all sports, including track and field, volleyball and swimming.”
Sports related concussions account for 53 percent of all head injuries in young people under the age of 19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC estimates that there are between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports related injuries among young people each year.
Concussions have received heightened attention in recent years because of the large number of retired professional football players who have sued the National Football League. These retired players claim that in some instances they were sent back into games despite the fact that their coaches knew there was a reasonable chance they may have suffered concussions on the gridiron.
In each of the 50 states there are laws requiring teams to take out athletes who may have suffered concussions. The decision is often made by members of the ...

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