Is It Time to Give Athletes a Voice in the Dissemination Strategies of Concussion-Related Information? Exploratory Examination of 2444 Adolescent Athletes

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the research was to screen male and female adolescent athletes on their concussion educational histories and preferred future methods of education in terms of educational messenger, modality, and concussion-related areas of interest. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Examination setting within the classroom. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescent male (n = 1854) and female (n = 590) athletes aged 12 to 18 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: To explore the concussion educational histories and preferred future methods of education in Irish male and female adolescent athletes. RESULTS: 19.7% (n = 482) of the sample received education in the past 12 months. Male athletes had a significantly higher rate of previous education than female athletes (41% vs 17%). The methods used in previous educational interventions are failing to match the interests of the athletes. Sex played a significant role in the preferred educational methods, as male and female athletes had significant differences in their choice of educational messenger, modality, and concussion-related areas of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The current disparity in previous concussion education rates between male and female adolescent athletes should be addressed. Forthcoming research should explore the efficacy of tailoring knowledge translation strategies to match the specific needs of the recipient.