The effect of the Parachute™ Awareness for Players Program on the acquisition of concussion knowledge and attitude in children who play soccer

Headnote

Abstract

Objective: A cluster randomized, controlled trial design was used to compare the effectiveness of the presentation of the Parachute™ Concussion Awareness for Players (PCAP) course slides content (intervention) with the provision of Parachute™ written concussion information alone (control).

The study was conducted at the training facility of a community soccer association in the Ottawa area.

Participants: A convenience sample of 83 soccer players between the ages of 10 to 14 was recruited over 4 consecutive weeks of summer soccer camp.

Main outcome measures: Concussion knowledge and attitudes were measured using the Concussion Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire (CKAT) before, after and at one-month post education.

Results: The provision of the standardized PCAP concussion education program resulted in a statistically significant increase in mean knowledge scores (p=0.004) compared to the provision of standardized written material. A significant effect of time (p<0.001) was noted in both the intervention and control groups demonstrating a higher attitude score after the education.

Conclusions: The provision of standardized core curriculum to children improved their ability to appropriately identify concussion symptoms. Regardless of how standardized education was provided, improvement in concussion attitude scores was noted. Increasing children's general attitude toward concussion may empower them to report their symptoms to a parent or coach.

Résumé

Objectif: Un essai controlé randomisé par groupe a servi a comparer lefficacité de la présentation par diapositives du cours de ParachuteMC intitulé ?Sensibilisation aux commotions cérébrales pour les sportifs (SCCS) (groupe d'intervention), comparativement au fait de fournir uniquement les informations écrites de ParachuteMC sur les commotions cérébrales (groupe témoin).

Cette étude a été menée au centre d'entraînement d'une association communautaire de soccer de la région d'Ottawa.

Participants: Un échantillon de commodité de 83 joueurs de soccer ágés de 10 a 14 ans a été recruté au cours des 4 semaines consécutives d'un camp dété de soccer.

Mesures principales des résultats: Les connaissances et les attitudes vis-a-vis des commotions cérébrales ont été mesurées a laide du Concussion Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire (CKAT) avant et apres la formation, ainsi qu'un mois suivant cette derniere.

Résultats : La mise en œuvre du programme éducatif normalise sur les commotions cérébrales SCCS de ParachuteMC a entraíné une augmentation statistique considérable des scores de connaissances moyens (p=0,004) par rapport a la présentation de...