Concussion Knowledge and Awareness Among Canadian Medical Students and Residents:
A Research Proposal
Scott D. Bray 1 , Shannon Hart 1 , Ryan P. Kelly 1 , Jared M. Ryan 1 , Roger Avery 1,2
1. Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s NL, A1B 3V6
2. Division of Neurosurgery, Eastern Health, St. John’s NL, A1B 3V6
Recently the CDC has classified concussions as an epidemic, resulting in a growing body of
medical literature surrounding their severity, management, and diagnosis. The financial burden
of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a whole costs the Canadian government upwards of $10
billion. With mild TBIs comprising 80% of all TBIs, concussions may account for a large portion
of this financial impact. A concussion has been previously defined as a TBI induced by
biomechanical forces being transmitted to the head by a blow to the head, face, neck or
elsewhere on the body, and are considered the mildest form of diffuse axonal injury. Therefore, it
is important to recognize that concussive injuries occur via a complex mechanism and should be
treated as complex injuries. Various screening tools, such as the Sport Concussion Assessment
Tool 5 (SCAT5), have been developed and intended for use by healthcare professionals in
evaluation of individuals that are 13 years or older. In conjunction with screening tools,
guidelines for the management of concussions in the setting of returning to sport, better known
as returntoplay
(RTP), and returning to the classroom, known as returntolearn
(RTL), should
be used by all healthcare professionals. That being said, a proportion of Canadian medical
schools have been identified as offering little to no education on the topic. Furthermore,
residency programs of specialties identified as being a first point of contact for concussion
management have been observed to have discrepancies and gaps in knowledge between
specialties regarding important elements of injury care. The present study proposes to analyze
the longitudinal learning of Canadian medical students and residents regarding concussion
awareness and management. From this, Canadian medical students’ education regarding
concussion awareness and management will be evaluated to determine whether or not it is
enhanced throughout medical school training. Using a modified version of the concussion
knowledge survey developed by Boggild and Tator (2012), our group will compare knowledge
1
3/12/2019 World Congress Abstract - Draft - Google Docs
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scores regarding concussion awareness and management between preclerk
medical students and
family, emergency, and pediatric residents across Canada. Our study aims to identify
discrepancies existing with regard to concussionrelated
teaching between the various levels of
medical education. Moreover, the present study looks to contribute to the field of concussion
management and research by increasing awareness of knowledge translation gaps in medical
school training in Canada.
Miranda Boggild, Charles H. Tator (2012). Concussion Knowledge Among Medical Students and
Neurology/Neurosurgery Residents.

Concussion Knowledge and Awareness Among Canadian Medical Students and Residents: A Research Proposal