Sports-related concussion knowledge and attitudes of intramural and club sport athletes

Abstract

IntroductionSports-related concussions have attracted greater public health concern as their incidence rises, leading to changes in concussion education and laws protecting athletes. Currently the intramural and club sport programs at Oakland University (OU) (Rochester, Michigan) do not have a concussion education program for its athletes. Therefore, determining the knowledge and attitudes these athletes have towards concussions is essential in determining whether a program is needed. We hypothesized that due to the lack of a concussion education program, athletes at OU do not possess adequate knowledge and harbor unhealthy attitudes towards concussions.MethodsA validated, and reliable concussion knowledge and attitudes survey was identified, modified, and distributed to athletes participating in intramural and club sports at OU's Recreation Center. The responses were scored generating concussion knowledge and attitude scores. Data was analyzed using t-tests to evaluate significant differences between different groups.ResultsOne hundred eight-two of 200 respondents had complete survey data, of which 53.6% were female and 46.4% male; 59.9% participated in intramural sports only, 26.4% in club sports only, and 13.7% in both. The mean overall knowledge and attitude scores were 80.6% and 74.8%, respectively. These scores did not vary by sport participation (p = 0.685; p = 0.51). Female athletes had significantly higher knowledge than male athletes (p = 0.011). Athletes majoring in health science fields had significantly higher knowledge than athletes in non-health science majors (p = 0.006), but similar attitudes (p = 0.697).ConclusionsWhile the results indicate that OU athletes possess some knowledge and generally healthy attitudes, there is room for improvement that could be met with a single concussion education program for both intramural and club sport athletes. Despite having significantly higher knowledge, health science athletes did not display healthier attitudes than non-health science athletes, suggesting that knowledge does not always confer healthier attitudes. Therefore, a concussion education program should emphasize improving athlete concussion attitudes.