Trends in Public Knowledge Pertaining to Traumatic Brain Injury From 2016 to 2025.

Abstract

Objective: Prior literature suggests that misconceptions surrounding traumatic brain injury (TBI) definition, short-term impact, and long-term implications are common. The current study sought to replicate and expand a previous survey to provide updated estimates regarding the frequency of TBI misconceptions within lay individuals from the United States.

Method: Data were collected from 438 individuals via an electronic survey. Participants completed 42 items designed to evaluate knowledge surrounding TBI.

Results: The overall accuracy rate/percent answered correctly was 60%. Participants who reported having attended a seminar/workshop taught by an expert on concussion or having received formal concussion training (58%) demonstrated somewhat worse accuracy relative to those with no reported training (62%; p = .004). Participants who reported above average or greater exposure to discussion of head injuries and their outcomes in the media (58%) demonstrated slightly worse accuracy relative to those who reported average media exposure or less (61%; p = .013). There were no significant differences in accuracy between participants who: (i) reported having been formally diagnosed with ≥1 concussion by a healthcare professional, compared to those without a concussion history; (ii) reported any formal athletic participation relative to those without athletic participation; and (iii) participated in contact sports compared to those who did not.

Conclusions: High rates of TBI misconceptions remain and individuals remain vulnerable to the impact of the spread of misinformation across mass and social media.