• Clin J Sport Med · May 2020

    Concussion Symptom Underreporting Among Incoming National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I College Athletes.

    • Fiona N Conway, Marianne Domingues, Robert Monaco, Laura M Lesnewich, Anne E Ray, Brandon L Alderman, Sabrina M Todaro, and Jennifer F Buckman.
    • Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
    • Clin J Sport Med. 2020 May 1; 30 (3): 203-209.

    ObjectiveAccurate diagnosis of sport-related concussions relies heavily on truthful self-reporting of symptom severity. Previous studies have emphasized lack of knowledge as a factor in symptom nondisclosure. This study sought to examine concussion knowledge and the relationship of knowledge to reasons for symptom nondisclosure.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingData were collected during preparticipation athletic evaluations via electronic survey.ParticipantsOne hundred fifty-six incoming National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes.Main Outcome MeasuresSurvey items included previous concussion diagnosis, concussion fact and symptom knowledge, reasons and situational contexts for nondisclosure, and stakeholder attitudes.ResultsParticipants, on average, had substantial concussion symptom and fact knowledge. Unexpectedly, participants with higher concussion fact knowledge endorsed more reasons that athletes may hide symptoms. Concussion symptom knowledge was unrelated to reasons for nondisclosure. Athletes believed that symptom reporting was less likely in high-stakes versus low-stakes situations and consistently identified their teammates as holding attitudes that support underreporting and athletic trainers as engaging in behaviors that support player safety.ConclusionsGreater concussion knowledge did not reduce the number of reasons that participants viewed as drivers for concussion nondisclosure. In other words, participants understood why athletes choose to hide symptoms even when they also understood the symptoms, risks, sequelae, and consequences of concussion (and potential harm of nondisclosure). Situational contexts and important stakeholder attitudes also appeared to importantly influence symptom disclosure decisions. A multifaceted approach that goes beyond current educational strategies to addresses situational, social, and athletic pressures may be needed to initiate a widespread cultural shift away from concussion nondisclosure.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…