Survey of empirically-based knowledge of concussion sequelae and return-to-play guidelines

Previous research found that the general public holds many misconceptions regarding the effects and symptoms of concussion/TBI. The current study utilized surveys from the published literature. Participants were recruited online and data were collected using online surveys. Four hundred and fifteen college undergraduates (mean age = 20.63, SD = 5.23; 70% female; and 64% Caucasian) and 153 healthcare professionals (mean age = 43.4, SD = 12.81; 67% female; and 87% Caucasian) were surveyed regarding knowledge of concussion/TBI sequelae and return-to-play guidelines. Using Pearson chi-square analyses, undergraduates performed significantly better than a 1988 general sample. Additionally, healthcare professionals performed better than college undergraduates. Physicians had fewer misconceptions than other healthcare professionals but specific comparisons between physicians and athletic trainers did not reveal significant differences. While healthcare professionals had fewer misconceptions than college undergraduates, there are still areas of consistent inaccuracies in knowledge across healthcare groups that future educational interventions could target.