TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Concussion-related protocols and preparticipation assessments used for incoming student-athletes in National Collegiate Athletic Association member institutions
JO  - Journal of athletic training
A1  - Kerr, Zachary Y.
A1  - Snook, Erin M.
A1  - Lynall, Robert
A1  - Dompier, Thomas P.
A1  - Sales, Latrice
A1  - Parsons, John T.
A1  - Hainline, Brian
SP  - 1174
EP  - 1181
VL  - 50
IS  - 11
N2  - CONTEXT:  National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) legislation requires that member institutions have policies to guide the recognition and management of sport-related concussions. Identifying the nature of these policies and the mechanisms of their implementation can help identify areas of needed improvement. <br><br>OBJECTIVE:  To estimate the characteristics and prevalence of concussion-related protocols and preparticipation assessments used for incoming NCAA student-athletes. <br><br>DESIGN:  Cross-sectional study. SETTING:  Web-based survey. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS:  Head athletic trainers from all 1113 NCAA member institutions were contacted; 327 (29.4%) completed the survey. INTERVENTION(S):  Participants received an e-mail link to the Web-based survey. Weekly reminders were sent during the 4-week window. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):  Respondents described concussion-related protocols and preparticipation assessments (eg, concussion history, neurocognitive testing, balance testing, symptom checklists). Descriptive statistics were compared by division and football program status. <br><br>RESULTS:  Most universities provided concussion education to student-athletes (95.4%), had return-to-play policies (96.6%), and obtained the number of previous concussions sustained by incoming student-athletes (97.9%). Fewer had return-to-learn policies (66.6%). Other concussion history-related information (eg, symptoms, hospitalization) was more often collected by Division I universities. Common preparticipation neurocognitive and balance tests were the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT; 77.1%) and Balance Error Scoring System (46.5%). In total, 43.7% complied with recommendations for preparticipation assessments that included concussion history, neurocognitive testing, balance testing, and symptom checklists. This was due to moderate use of balance testing (56.6%); larger proportions used concussion history (99.7%, n = 326), neurocognitive testing (83.2%), and symptom checklists (91.7%). More Division I universities (55.2%) complied with baseline assessment recommendations than Division II (38.2%, χ(2) = 5.49, P =.02) and Division III (36.1%, χ(2) = 9.11, P =.002) universities. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS:  National Collegiate Athletic Association member institutions implement numerous strategies to monitor student-athletes. Division II and III universities may need additional assistance to collect in-depth concussion histories and conduct balance testing. Universities should continue developing or adapting (or both) return-to-learn policies.    Keywords: American football;  <p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1062-6050
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-50.11.11
ID  - ref1
ER  -