The TRAIN Study: A Concussion Prevention Strategy in Middle Schools

A convenience sample of participants will be recruited from parents of United States middle school aged children whose children have been engaged in organized sports within the past 2 years. Interested parents will contact study stuff, who will ensure eligibility criteria are met. Upon this, and completing the written informed consent process, participants will be assigned a unique identifier and randomized (simple) without replacement to one of the two study arms (control vs. treatment), using a predetermined random number generator in Excel. Participants in the control group will receive standard concussion education materials focused on concussion prevention in youth sport. Participants in the treatment group will receive the same standard concussion education materials AND the TRAIN concussion education module. The TRAIN education module is grounded in a theoretical structure inclusive of the original intervention tenants of the Popular Opinion Leader (POL) and Diffusion of Innovations frameworks, and within the context of the socioecological model. Participants will complete a self-administered online pre-test survey, which includes assessments of concussion-related attitudes, beliefs, intentions, confidence in knowledge, and self-efficacy. After completion of the pre-test survey, participants will complete their assigned intervention (TRAIN concussion education module + standard concussion education materials versus standard concussion education materials only). Upon completion of their assigned intervention, participants will complete the online survey again to obtain post-test measures (post-test survey). Participants will also be scheduled to complete individual semi-structured interviews.