Almost 600 people are hospitalized every year for a concussion and approx. 14,500 people visit the emergency department. An online survey1 that was conducted among 1,895 Canadians aged 18 years and older and 391 Health Care Providers, found that:
• 55% reported having little or no concussion knowledge;
• 25% do not know how concussion is treated;
• 40% indicated that they were unaware of any of the cited tools and/or information resources on concussion available to the public; and
• 15% can identify the best ways to treat concussion
September 26th to October 2nd marks BC's first annual Concussion Awareness Week. The goal of the week is to raise awareness around concussions and encourage everyone to understand how to prevent, recognize, respond to and manage concussions. With that in mind, we'd greatly encourage you to browse through the following list of resources.
Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT)
The Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT) is a series of online educational modules and resources addressing concussion recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and management. Good concussion management may decrease the risk of brain damage and potentially reduce long-term health issues. There are various CATT educational modules available in English and French and are free of charge. Learn more about the individual modules here.
Resources
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Concussion in Sport: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement
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The “Invisible Injury”: Concussion Management and the Role of Physiotherapy
For more on Concussion Awareness Week including additional resources, shareable graphics and concussion-related courses, check out the Concussion Awareness Training Tool Kit and the press releases from the BC Children's Hospital and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.
1 Public Health Agency of Canada. (2018). Baseline Survey on Understanding and Awareness of Sport-Related Concussions.
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9f4abc1e-913d-4257-8ff1-9a4dbf89a139