Adolescent Sports-Related Concussion: US Healthcare Access, Finance, and Delivery

Abstract

The current United States health care systems has challenges and inconsistencies resulting from deficiencies in prevention and the optimal management of the sports-related concussion that goes beyond the acute injury. The current system leads to gaps in optimal care for children beginning with coaches who fail to identify a sport-relation concussion, remove a player from the practice or game or properly assess the player for a concussion before returning them to play according to each states’ laws; to more systemic problems that result from lack of communication with parents and school officials. The result is a delay in diagnosis and treatment, and in the provision of follow-up health services, concussion-related educational and insurance-related services and applicable insurance waivers. Viewed through the lens of a public health socioecological framework, the actors and social and environmental factors, and policy-sensitive participants can be clarified with respect to formulating public health policy in order to identify areas amenable to intervention and health risk mitigation of school-age youth at risk.