Teacher’s Perception of Student Athletes’ Concussion Symptoms and Management

Abstract

Background: There is an annual prevalence of approximately 1.1 to 1.9 million recreational and sports related concussions 18 years of age or younger in the United States. Student athletes can suffer a concussion at any time, especially when they are engaging in contact sports. Concussion symptoms may not initially present after the hit but can later be displayed in the classroom or other settings. Teachers have the opportunity to observe and assist student athletes for concussion symptoms in the classroom. While there are concussion protocols and return to learn guidelines in place, concussion symptoms can be missed. Objectives: The purpose of this DNP project was to gain an understanding of teacher’s knowledge of concussions, concussion symptoms, concussion management, and Return to Learn at Central Catholic High School. Because there are several clinical features about concussions and components of the return to learn protocol, the goal of this DNP project was to assess and further educate teachers about concussions, concussion symptoms and the return to learn protocol. Design: This DNP project utilized a one group pre- and post-test quantitative design. All components of this project (pre- and post-education questionnaire and the educational intervention) were distributed via email for the teachers to complete. The pre-education questionnaire was used to gather information about the teachers’ understanding of concussion. An educational PowerPoint was distributed via email for participants to review. The posteducation questionnaire was used to assess the impact of the intervention on teachers’ knowledge of concussion, concussion symptoms, concussion management, and Return to Learn. Setting/Sample: The setting for this DNP project was at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon. Sixty teachers who have direct contact with students at this school were invited to participate in this study. The anticipated sample size was sixty teachers; however, the actual sample size was 12. Results: The overall results revealed that participant (n=12) knowledge significantly improved after the educational intervention with a mean score of 56.7% on the pre-education assessment and an average score of 95.9% on the post-education assessment. Conclusion: This DNP project was designed to assess the knowledge of teachers regarding concussion and to further educate teachers via an educational intervention about concussions, concussion symptoms and the return to learn protocol utilizing a one group pre- and post-test quantitative design. The use of an educational intervention was an effective method to increase teachers’ awareness of concussion symptoms, concussion management, and Return to Learn guidelines in this high school setting