title: Prevalence of and attitudes about concussion in Irish schools' rugby union players.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Youth rugby players represent 45.2% (N = 69,472) of the Irish rugby union playing population. The risk and consequences of concussion injury are of particular concern in these young athletes, but limited epidemiological data exists. This study investigated annual and lifetime prevalence of concussion in an Irish schoolboy rugby union cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous cross-sectional survey of youth rugby players was conducted. Diagnosed concussion was defined as an incident where diagnosis was confirmed by a health professional or coach. Demographics, prevalence, and attitudes to concussion were collated. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, and logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 304 youth (aged 12-18 years) responded. Lifetime prevalence of diagnosed concussion was 19.4%, with annual (2010) prevalence 6.6%. Approximately 25.4% of players with diagnosed concussions returned to play without medical advice. Internal motivation (11.8%) was the predominant factor in feeling pressure to play while concussed. A desire for further concussion education was expressed by 89.5% of participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reform is required to prevent and manage concussion injuries among youth players in the rugby union, including mandatory education specific to concussion and implementation of return-to-play protocols. These findings have relevance for governing bodies, coaches, clinicians, schools, parents, and rugby union players.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, Health Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sinéad E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Delahunty
authors.forename: Eamonn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delahunt
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Condon
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Toomey
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blake
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: adolescents; concussion; health communication; rugby