Abstract
Sports-related concussions affect over 280,000 adolescents each year while the general public remains ill-informed about concussions, signs/symptoms, and treatments. Adolescents may be at an increased risk for experiencing adverse physiological and psychological effects from concussions, underscoring the critical need for effective concussion education strategies. While mobile apps are increasingly being used in education and healthcare settings, none were found to offer comprehensive concussion education capable of reaching diverse audiences. The interactive mobile app "Rebound: Beating Concussions" has the potential to be an effective teaching tool for school athletic programs and medical professionals to communicate important concussion-related information to student athletes, parents, and sports coaches. A mixed methods study was used to determine the app's ability to convey information about concussions to student athletes in grades 5 through 12, parents of student athletes, and sports coaches. Concussion knowledge and participant opinions were assessed via a pre/post model and administered before and after app use. Participants demonstrated knowledge gains in the identification of concussion symptoms, treatments, and misconceptions. Additionally, participants demonstrated positive opinions on the content of the app, its relevance to everyday life, and its potential as a teaching tool.
Highlights
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread public health problem with 1.6 to 3.8 million sports/recreation-related concussions occurring each year (Daneshvar et al, 2011)
We find that “Rebound: Beating Concussions” is an effective learning tool, providing 1) increased knowledge and understanding of concussion symptoms, 2) increased knowledge and understanding of what a concussion is and how it can be treated, and 3) dispelling commonly-held misconceptions about concussions
After the nature of the study was explained to interested participants they were asked to sign a consent form indicating their willingness to participate and took an online pre-test of demographic questions, true/false statements related to concussion misconceptions, questions on concussion-related terms and definitions, and open-ended questions regarding the symptoms and treatment of a concussion
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread public health problem with 1.6 to 3.8 million sports/recreation-related concussions occurring each year (Daneshvar et al, 2011). TBI can lead to emotional, physiologic, and cognitive effects in children (CDC Traumatic Brain Injury) who may be at an increased risk. Adolescents do not have fully developed axon myelination in the temporal lobes. They have thinner cranial bones, weaker neck muscles, and immature brain autoregulation (Buzzini and Guskiewicz, 2006; Sarmiento et al, 2019). Research indicates that children with sports-related concussions experience longer recovery times than adults (Elbin et al, 2016).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
