title: Knowledge of Concussion and Reporting Behaviors in High School Athletes With or Without Access to an Athletic Trainer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increased sport participation and sport-related concussion incidence has led to an emphasis on having an appropriate medical professional available to high school athletes. The medical professional best suited to provide medical care to high school athletes is a certified athletic trainer (AT). Access to an AT may influence the reporting of sport-related concussion in the high school athletic population; however, little is known about how the presence of an AT affects concussion knowledge, prevention, and recognition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate knowledge of concussion and reporting behaviors in high school athletes who did or did not have access to an AT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 438 athletes with access to an AT and 277 without access to an AT.
  
  
  METHODS
  A validated knowledge-of-concussion survey consisting of 83 items addressing concussion history, concussion knowledge, scenario questions, signs and symptoms of a concussion, and reasons why an athlete would not report a concussion. The independent variable was access to an AT.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the proportion of athletes who correctly identified knowledge of concussion, signs and symptoms of concussion, and reasons why high school student-athletes would not disclose a potential concussive injury by access to an AT. Frequency statistics, χ2tests, independent t tests, and linear regression were conducted to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The underreporting of concussion among high school athletes was 55%. Athletes with access to an AT had more knowledge of concussion than did athletes without such access (P ≤ .001). Chi-square tests did not demonstrate a significant relationship between AT access and a higher percentage reporting concussions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High school athletes with access to an AT had more concussion knowledge, but they did not report suspected concussions to an authority figure more frequently than athletes without access to an AT.
authors.affiliation: Youngstown State University, OH.|Michigan State University, East Lansing.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, East Lansing.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Covassin
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, East Lansing.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nogle
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, East Lansing.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, East Lansing.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kovan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057566:Self Report; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: health care; secondary school; traumatic brain injuries