Description: Background of Problem: Brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents.According to the Brain Injury Association of America (2015) ages 0-4 and 15-19 are the two agegroups at greatest risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion. Five out of ten concussions are not reported or go undetected. The literature indicates there is a lack of parental knowledge on concussion symptoms, treatment, and long-term sequelae. In order to make competent choices for their children related to concussion, parents need to have adequate knowledge.

PICO Question: Will an educational program improve parental knowledge of concussion symptoms, treatment, and long-term sequelae in high-school athletes?

Methodology: This was a pre-test and post-test program evaluation. The sample size was 40 parents of high-school athletes (grades 7-12) in two rural school districts in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The measuring tool was a questionnaire developed by Dr. Craig Coghlin, Dr. Bryan Myles, and Dr. Scott Howitt. Data was obtained during a PowerPoint educational session on concussions.

Statistical Results:

There was strong evidence (t = 2.02, p = .00005) to support the hypothesis that participating in the educational program on concussions will improve your knowledge of concussions.

Conclusions:

Parents who attended an educational session on concussion symptoms, treatment, and longterm sequelae had an improvement in knowledge. Future studies should include a larger sample size. Recommendations for mandatory educational sessions for parents of high-school athletes should be considered by each school district.