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CDC’s “Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports” Tool Kit is a Success

• 50% of coaches reported viewing concussions more seriously after using the tool kit.
• 68% of coaches reported using the tool kit to educate others about concussion, including athletes, athlete’s parents, and other coaches.
• 34% of coaches reported that the tool kit increased their knowledge about how to prevent and manage concussions.
• 38% of coaches reported making changes in how they dealt with concussion including placing more emphasis on training techniques and safety equipment that minimize the risk of concussion.

Keeping Athletes Safe from Concussion

When a Texas high school football player sustained two concussions within 18 days, his coach told him to “shake it off.” Fortunately, the boy’s mother knew better, thanks to CDC’s multimedia educational tool kit, “Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports.”

Not only did she make sure her son received the medical attention he needed, she also shared the information in the kit with her son’s coach to educate him on the seriousness of concussions. The coach is now using the materials, and her son has recovered and is planning to present the kit information as part of a classroom project.

Although stories like these are important in conveying the impact of CDC programs on individuals and its goal to increase the number of adolescents who are prepared to be healthy, safe, independent, and productive members of society, CDC uses more rigorous methods to evaluate its overall communication efforts. In 2006, it began a one-year evaluation study following the national launch of “Heads Up” in 2005. The tool kit demonstrated positive changes in high school coaches’ knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and skills related to concussion prevention and management.

This study is the first to evaluate the concussion awareness campaign targeting high school coaches. The follow-up study has already helped to inform future initiatives, including the development of a multimedia educational tool kit for coaches and administrators of youth sports (“Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports), in partnership with the National Football League, YMCA of the USA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 23 other leading sports and medical organizations.

To learn more, visit www.cdc.gov/ncipc/concussion.htm