Concussion Knowledge in High School Football Players

CONTEXT: Participating in sports while experiencing symptoms of a concussion can be dangerous. An athlete's lack of knowledge may be one factor influencing his or her decision to report symptoms. In an effort to enhance concussion education among high school athletes, legislation in Florida has attempted to address the issue through parental consent forms. OBJECTIVE: To survey high school varsity football players to determine their level of knowledge about concussions after the initiation of new concussion-education legislation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Descriptive survey administered in person during a team meeting. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 334 varsity football players from 11 high schools in Florida. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Participants completed a survey and identified the symptoms and consequences of a concussion among distractors. They also indicated whether they had received education about concussions from a parent, formal education, neither, or both. RESULTS: The most correctly identified symptoms were headache (97%), dizziness (93%), and confusion (90%), and the most correctly identified consequence was persistent headache (93%). Participants reported receiving education from their parents (54%) or from a formal source (60%). Twenty-five percent reported never receiving any education regarding concussions. No correlations were found between the method of education and the knowledge of symptoms or consequences of concussion. CONCLUSIONS: The high school football players we surveyed did not have appropriate knowledge of the symptoms and consequences of concussions. Nausea or vomiting, neck pain, grogginess, difficulty concentrating, and personality or behavioral changes were often missed by participants, and only a small proportion correctly identified brain hemorrhage, coma, and death as possible consequences of inappropriate care after a concussion. Even with parents or guardians signing a consent form indicating they discussed concussion awareness with their child, 46% of athletes suggested they had not.