Content area
Full Text
Introduction
Knowledge transfer (KT) has made recent advances in the scientific literature and is becoming an important topic in sports medicine. 1 The 2008 Concussion in Sport Consensus Statement draws attention to KT 2 and highlights its importance in communicating information about enhancing awareness of and optimising education regarding concussion. 2 3 Participation in sport plays a role in the lives of many athletes, parents, coaches and sport governing bodies. As the struggle of dealing and coping with the effects of concussion by popular sport personalities is drawn into the public eye, the impact of concussion, the importance of recognising signs and symptoms, receiving proper management/treatment and the value of education becomes even more urgent. Research studies examining the understanding and knowledge base of sport concussion among athletes and parents, coaches and trainers, physiotherapists and medical personnel/students have found that there is limited, incomplete or a lack of standardised knowledge, 4-22 reinforcing the need to optimise and provide knowledge. Specialised educational tools have been implemented to target concussion knowledge areas such as signs and symptoms, prevention, recognition and response for populations such as student-athletes and coaches. 23-27 Implementation of these tools has facilitated changes in concussion knowledge, attitudes and practices, supporting the need for optimal and specialised educational efforts.
Expanding concussion knowledge and providing education goes beyond traditional methods of face-to-face and printed materials. 28 29 The use of websites and social media, which provide concussion information and advice, should be considered. 29 30 Those interacting with concussed and healthy individuals need to: assess the information needs of the target audience and their preferred method of learning; implement KT principles when developing or identifying optimal education strategies and determine the success of these strategies.
This review paper is based on a literature search and will: (1) provide a brief overview of KT and related concepts; (2) review traditional (eg, printed materials) and emerging KT strategies (eg, legislation and social media) and look at the impact on concussion knowledge and education; (3) discuss the value of KT to organisations, the role of KT frameworks and the impact on concussion-related decision making and (4) where possible, make recommendations for the future of concussion education.
Methods
Databases Pubmed, Medline and Sport Discus and an internet search were used...