Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Injury Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
J Neurotrauma. 2023 Aug;40(15-16):1584-1595. doi: 10.1089/neu.2022.0504. Epub 2023 Apr 19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HEADS UP youth sports coach materials are the most widely adopted form of concussion education for coaches across the United States-reaching millions of youth sports coaches over the last decade. These materials focus on concussion symptom identification, response, and management (e.g., return to school and sports), while also addressing the importance of communicating to athletes and their families about concussion safety. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of CDC HEADS UP materials on coach knowledge and communication with youth athletes about concussion safety. This is the first randomized control study of the CDC HEADS UP materials in real world youth sport conditions. Participants were 764 coaches at 15 YMCA associations. Cluster randomization was used to assign branches within associations to intervention (CDC HEADS UP) and control (treatment as usual) conditions. Coaches completed surveys prior to and at the end of the competitive season. Communication with athletes about concussion increased among coaches in the intervention group (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14, 1.36) but not the control group (aRR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.90, 1.31), in multi-variate analyses controlling for coach demographic characteristics and baseline communication practices. Concussion symptom knowledge and communication intentions also significantly increased in the intervention group but not in the control group. This study provides evidence that CDC HEADS UP materials increase the likelihood that youth sport coaches communicate with their athletes about concussion safety. As youth sports organizations increasingly mandate concussion education for coaches, CDC HEADS UP materials may be considered a leading resource for adoption and setting-relevant implementation.
疾病控制与预防中心 (CDC) 的 HEAD UP 青少年运动教练材料是美国最广泛采用的教练脑震荡教育形式,在过去十年中为数百万青少年运动教练所采用。这些材料侧重于脑震荡症状的识别、反应和管理(例如,重返学校和运动),同时还强调了向运动员及其家属传达脑震荡安全重要性。本研究旨在评估 CDC HEAD UP 材料对教练知识和与青少年运动员交流脑震荡安全的有效性。这是在真实的青少年运动环境中对 CDC HEAD UP 材料进行的第一项随机对照研究。参与者是 15 个基督教青年会协会的 764 名教练。采用聚类随机化将协会内的分支机构分配到干预(CDC HEAD UP)和对照(常规治疗)条件。教练在竞争赛季开始前和结束时完成了调查。干预组的教练与运动员交流脑震荡的次数增加(调整后的风险比[aRR] = 1.24,95%置信区间[CI] = 1.14,1.36),而对照组则没有(aRR = 1.09,95%CI = 0.90,1.31),在控制了教练人口统计学特征和基线沟通实践的多变量分析中。干预组的脑震荡症状知识和沟通意图也显著增加,但对照组没有。本研究提供了证据表明,CDC HEAD UP 材料增加了青少年运动教练与运动员交流脑震荡安全的可能性。随着青少年运动组织越来越多地要求教练进行脑震荡教育,CDC HEAD UP 材料可能被视为采用和设置相关实施的主要资源。