Abstract Purpose Although much effort is underway by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations to highlight the seriousness of traumatic brain injury, including ...concussions, among young athletes, little is known about how these athletes and their parents view this injury and how much they know about it. Methods Online surveys were conducted with youth who participate in sports (n = 252) and with the parents of youth who participate in sports (n = 300) to explore the ways in which these audiences view concussion and messaging related to concussion. Results More than four out of five youth and parents reported that they had heard about concussions, although awareness was significantly higher for some subgroups, including parents of children 10–13 years old, and parents who reported using the Internet several times daily. Youth ages 13–15 years were significantly more likely to strongly agree that concussions are a “critical issue,” as compared with youth ages 16–18 years. Among parents, significantly more mothers than fathers agreed that concussions are a critical issue. More than half of youth participants strongly disagreed that their friends would think they were “dumb for caring about concussions,” with girls significantly more likely to strongly disagree than boys. When parents were asked to identify organizations they would trust as a reliable source of information for concussions, the most frequently cited organization was the CDC. Conclusions Results of this study demonstrate a high level of awareness about concussion among youth athletes and parents of youth athletes. However, important distinctions among subgroups of both youth and parents—such as by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and Internet use—suggest directions for future communication and research efforts.
Background and Objectives
During the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, isolation and prevention measures to reduce COVID-19 contagions are essential for the care of all people; these ...measures should comply with the principles of inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities (PWD), with all kinds of deficiencies and levels of dependency. Thereby, the aim of this article is to present the measures adopted for PWD or people with rehabilitation needs, for containment, mitigation, or suppression of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in different countries of all continents and of all income levels.
Methods
A narrative approach was used in this article. First, a broad search was carried out in the 193 member states of the UN, and then 98 countries that issued any document, report, or information related to disability and COVID-19 were selected. Finally, 32 countries were included in this article because they presented official information. We considered official sources, the information available in the government, or on the health ministry page of the country. In this way, the countries that presented information which did not correspond to an official source were excluded. The search was conducted in August 2020 and updated in March 2021.
Results
First, the non-pharmacological general interventions for PWD included informative measures and general recommendations during the stay at home, isolation, and biosecurity measures, contagion prevention, detection of positive cases, mobilization measures, and measures implemented in institutions or residences of PWD. Second, we identified the economic and social benefits provided to PWD during the pandemic. Finally, we identified the measures taken by countries according to the type of impairment (visual, hearing, physical, mental, and cardiopulmonary impairment) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 50% of countries from the five world regions created and implemented specific measures for PWD to containment, mitigation, or suppression of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There is very little specific information available about the measures to continue with the care of people with rehabilitation needs and the long-term follow-up of PWD, and for the prevention and response to violence, especially for women with disabilities.
To describe adaptations in the provision of rehabilitation services proposed by scientific and professional rehabilitation organizations to avoid interruptions to patients rehabilitation process and ...delays in starting rehabilitation in patients with COVID-19.
A narrative review approach was used to identify the recommendations of scientific and professional organizations in the area of rehabilitation. A systematic search was performed in the main data-bases in 78 international and regional web portals of rehabilitation organizations. A total of 21 publications from these organizations were identified and selected.
The results are presented in 4 categories: adequacy of inpatient services, including acute care services and intensive care unit for patients with and without COVID-19; adequacy of outpatient services, including home-based rehabilitation and tele-rehabilitation; recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and regulatory standards and positions during the COVID-19 pandemic expressed by organizations for protecting the rights of health workers and patients.
Health systems around the world are rapidly learning from actions aimed at the reorganization of rehabilitation services for patients who are in the process of recovery from acute or chronic conditions, and the rapid response to the rehabilitation of survivors of COVID-19, as well as from efforts in the prevention of contagion of those providing the services.
Thermal power plants are the widely conventional generation unit technology used to produce electricity being controllable and dispatchable. The location of thermal power plants depends on the energy ...availability conditions of the areas and the capacity to fuels access. Their location and geographical distribution define a high level of concentration in areas defined as thermal districts and its location define reliability, security, availability, and flexibility indices to avoid critical scenario or support system from contingencies. However, in many cases the electrical configuration does not correspond to requirements. This paper links the concentration by political distribution in Colombia and the configuration used in the generating substations to guarantee requirements. The Hirschman-Herfindahl index as a market tool is used to evaluate energy concentration facing representative participation in certain departments of Colombia. Results evidenced configurations and concentration in a study case, results and analysis could be used for planner to promote participation, reliability and promote. The paper’s contribution and conclusions are linked to guide planners towards market and technical tool to evaluate installed capacities, avoid market concentration, and reduce risky scenarios.
To identify opportunities to improve coach-athlete communication, this study examined young athletes' perceptions and concerns about concussion, as well as their information needs. A qualitative data ...collection approach, based on the grounded theory methodology, was utilized. Six virtual focus groups were conducted with 17 male and female athletes’ ages 12 to 18 years. Results indicated that athletes were concerned about the potential long-term effects of a concussion. Athletes described multiple barriers that interfere with concussion reporting, including: being unfamiliar with concussion signs and symptoms, perceived pressure from teammates, concerns of interference that concussion reporting can have on gameplay, and a lack of focus on concussion during play. To help address these, participants expressed an interest in hearing frequently and directly, such as during a pre-game or practice huddle, from coaches about concussion and how to prevent this injury. The results demonstrate that concussion education programs can consider promoting messages for coaches to deliver to athletes about concussion prevention strategies and the benefits of concussion reporting on an athlete’s long-term health.
Introduction: Given the growing research on potential adverse outcomes related to concussion and other serious brain injuries and the increased susceptibility for concussion among youth athletes, ...primary prevention is vital to protect the health and safety of this population. The purpose of this study is to summarize the current research on risk factors and primary concussion prevention strategies focused on specific youth sports, and to identify research gaps. Methods: A literature search was conducted using six electronic databases. A scoping review method was used to identify studies that addressed risk factors or primary concussion prevention strategies focused on youth athletes (ages 5–18 years) in six sports (football, ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and wrestling). Results: Of the 18 publications identified, the publications focused on risk factors (N = 11), policy (N = 1), rule changes (N = 3), education (N = 2), equipment (N = 2), and playing technique (N = 0). Some articles had information related to multiple topics. Conclusions: Current research on concussion prevention has primarily been focused on risk factors. There are a dearth of studies that examine primary concussion prevention in sports. When studies do exist, most focus on football and ice hockey. Only a small number of studies focus solely on risk factors or primary prevention in soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and wrestling—all sports in which concussions are common. Practical applications: This scoping review summarizes current research on concussion risk factors and primary prevention strategies in specific sports focused on youth athletes and identifies research gaps to help inform future efforts.
Introduction/Background: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused by repeated head impacts and associated with deficits in cognition. Despite ...research and media attention, there is little science-based information available for the public. Also unclear is what the public and particularly parents of youth athletes know about CTE. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed parents of young athletes to fill this gap.
Methods: CDC analysed 12 CTE-related questions that appeared in Porter Novelli Public Service's 2017 SummerStyles opinion survey. Analyses focused on 674 parents of children who play in a youth sports programme.
Results: Half of parents had at least one child who plays contact sports. About one-third of respondents reported being somewhat or very familiar with CTE. Most parents (81.7%) have not received educational materials on CTE from a school or sports programme. Healthcare providers were the preferred source of information about CTE (70%), followed by sports coaches (54%).
Discussion/Conclusion: This analysis identified information needs related to CTE among parents of young athletes. These findings can be used by health educators to tailor educational materials to meet information needs. Educational materials that emphasize potential prevention strategies and symptom onset may be beneficial.
Coaches play an important role in concussion safety and their views on concussion influence those of their athletes and athletes' reporting behaviors. This 2021 survey of youth examined how often ...coaches provide concussion safety information to their athletes and the association between the presence of athletic trainers (ATs) at a team's games and practices and coaches' provision of concussion information to athletes. More than 4 in 10 youth who played sports reported that their coaches did not provide any sort of concussion education/information to them in the past 12 months. Among those youth who always/sometimes had ATs at practices or games, 76.3% received some type of coach education on concussion in the past 12 months, compared to 31.9% of those who rarely/never had ATs at practices or games (p<0.0001). Increasing access to ATs and adapting current concussion trainings and educational materials for coaches to increase coach-athlete communication may be beneficial.
American football is associated with the largest number of emergency department visits for pediatric sport-related traumatic brain injury, including concussions. Tackling is responsible for almost ...two-thirds of football concussions. Some have recommended implementing age restrictions on tackling in youth football.
To determine whether the public would support age restrictions and the factors that may drive such support.
Cross-sectional study.
Summer wave of Porter Novelli's 2020 US ConsumerStyles survey.
A total of 4053 adults.
Respondents answered questions about a good age for children to start playing tackle football, past football playing history, concerns about safety, and the benefits and risks of playing football.
Most respondents believed that middle (32.8%) or high (27.8%) school was a good age to start playing tackle football. About 1 in 5 (19.8%) respondents reported that children should never play tackle football. Certain groups of individuals were more likely to support children starting to play tackle football at high school age or above or to say that they should never play tackle football, including those with a bachelor's degree or higher (rate ratio RRHS+ = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.14, 1.76; RRNEVER = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.93, 3.78), those who did not have children under 18 (RRHS+ = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.90; RRNEVER = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.14, 2.07), those who were not football fans (RRNEVER = 3.07, 95% CI = 2.32, 4.06), and those who were very (RRHS+ = 3.94, 95% CI = 2.87, 5.42; RRNEVER = 11.52, 95% CI = 7.32, 18.15) or somewhat (RRHS+ = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.41, 2.52) concerned about the safety of children.
Despite acknowledging the benefits of playing football, many adults expressed concern about safety and endorsed high school age and older or never as a good age to start playing tackle football, highlighting a disconnect with current football program practices regarding age.