While optional, debriefing the peer concussion educators, coaches, program participants (i.e., student-athletes) is recommended to obtain information to improve the program. This debrief session can consist of the following questions:
1) What was your general experience of the program?
2) What were the program’s strengths and limitations?
3) What suggestions do you have for improvement?
4) What are your recommendations for future participants?
In addition, a formal program assessment is also recommended to assist in determining the overall effectiveness of the program and its components at your institution. In particular, the degree to which the program is reinforcing and enhancing concussion knowledge as well as enhancing intention to report concussions can be assessed. The actual number of reported concussions prior to the implementation of the program and in the years after the program is implemented can also be determined. A suggested model of program assessment is discussed below and is summarized in Table 4.
Assessment Timeline
Student-athletes participating in the program should be assessed at multiple time points (e.g. baseline, immediately after the program and months after the program) for 5 things: 1) concussion knowledge, 2) attitude toward concussive reporting, 3) intent to report, 4) perceived attitudes of others toward reporting (direct subjective norm), and 5) ability to report.
Concussion Knowledge
Concussion knowledge can be measured with a checklist adapted from Gioia and Collins’ (2006) Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE) and McLeod et al.’s (2007) study, which examined youth coaches’ misunderstanding of sport-related concussion comparing concussion symptom and effects. This consisted of 27 total items, 19 of which were true symptoms such as blurred vision and headache and 8 of which were false symptoms such as black eye or loss of neck range motion. Scores were calculated by giving one point for each actual symptom identified and one point for each non-symptom not identified for a total possible score of 27.