A - 155 Southern African Parents' Concussion Knowledge and Intention to Report Youth Athletes.

Abstract

To determine Southern African parents' concussion knowledge and intention to report in youth athletes. A diverse sample of 48 Southern African parents of youth athletes ages 5-18 completed an online survey. Recruitment included: 1) contacting school administrations to forward the survey to parents and 2) a social media post. The Concussion Knowledge Checklist (CKC) consists of 27 items, 19 true and eight false symptoms, with a score range of 0-54. The Intention to Report Scale consists of seven questions on a Likert scale, with a score range of 7-49. Higher scores indicate greater knowledge and intention to report, respectively. CKC score (M = 37.24; SD = 7.1) indicates a moderate degree of concussion knowledge. Certain symptoms (i.e., blurred vision) were accurately endorsed at a high rate (83%). Conversely, affective symptoms, such as more emotional, were accurately endorsed at a low rate (25%). The Intention to Report Scale score (M = 40.98; SD = 5.97) suggests a moderate to strong degree of participants' intention to report. Participants indicated a moderate degree of concussion knowledge. However, variability was evidenced by some symptoms (e.g., blurred vision) endorsed at a high rate and others, for example, more emotional, at a low rate. These findings have possible implications for concussion education. The Intention to Report Scale indicated a moderate to strong degree of parents' intention to report their children with a suspected concussion.