RTL Concussion Communication

This study is aimed at improving health outcomes for adolescents who sustain sport and recreation related concussions (SRRC) by enhancing Return to Learn (RTL). The study will conduct a quasi-experimental school-based 2 phase study involving 200 students with SRRC. The first phase will be descriptive to evaluate current standards (n=50). Phase 2 will compare students whod receive either standard of care RTL (n=75) or RTL augmented by a communication tool (RTC+; n=75).

Up to 3.8 million secondary school students are diagnosed with a sport and recreation related concussion (SRRC) annually in the U.S., which can have a detrimental impact on educational attainment, a social determinant of health (SDOH) that is linked with college admission and graduation, employment, income status and social class. This research will address this significant public health problem by gaining a deeper understanding of the relationships among SRRC and SDOH and examine the impact of concussion management team communication on return to learn (RTL) outcomes for students following an SRRC. This research has significant potential to improve RTL outcomes of secondary school students and may provide evidence to support policy-level changes to reduce disparities in SRRC management, especially among low-resource school districts. The three research aims of this study will proceed as follows: Aim 1 will examine the relationships among SDOH, SRRC-related symptoms, and RTL milestones among a diverse population of adolescents and young adult secondary school students following SRRC. This aim will be achieved by enrolling and tracking secondary school students who sustain an SRRC over a 12-month period. Aim 2 will compare RTL milestones among secondary school students following SRRC who are managed by an interdisciplinary concussion management team that uses standard or care plus a communication tool intervention or only standard of care for the RTL process. Aim 3 will examine differential RTL outcomes between groups (standard of care plus a communication tool intervention vs. only standard of care) based on SDOH, sex as a biological variable, and pre-injury health status among secondary school students following SRRC. The study aims to reduce disparities in timely management of SRRC during the process of RTL, achievement of RTL milestones and improvement of SRRC-related symptoms in the context of SDOH.