Concussion Management in Summer Camps

Abstract

Children are exposed to head injury throughout the year, specifically during the active summer months. Protocols for managing concussions at summer camps are varied, and the management of concussions in this setting has yet to be evaluated. Our objective was to characterize the patterns of concussion management among summer camp providers via a cross-sectional survey of clinicians. Of the 108 participants, 46% reported a protocol was used to treat concussion in their camp setting, 49% reported comfort in treating concussion at camp, 44% reported they would either send a child home or to a hospital immediately following the injury, and 85% reported they would be likely to use a standardized guideline. The strategies used by surveyed providers may be unnecessarily conservative in the management of concussions, and may also result in an over-utilization of health care services. These results provide a catalyst to create a standardized guideline. Subscribe to JPRA