Gender Differences in Concussion Reporting Among High School Athletes

BACKGROUND: An athlete’s lack of concussion knowledge could lead to significant underreporting and injury mismanagement. To provide more effective management strategies of concussions in adolescent athletes, further examination of reporting behaviors is of critical importance. HYPOTHESIS: The hypotheses for this study were as follows: (1) Girls are more likely to report concussion, (2) girls are more likely to report future concussions after an educational intervention, and (3) a difference in rationale for not reporting concussion will be found between sexes. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, cohort design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: Survey answers were collected on 454 high school athletes (212 girls, 242 boys; mean age, 15.7 ± 1.15 years). Individual team meetings lasting approximately 30 minutes were held to collect data and provide an educational lecture. Participants were randomly provided an iClicker to submit a response to questions asked. RESULTS: Girls were more likely to report a concussion (χ(2) = 8.32, df = 3, N = 454, P = 0.040) and more likely to report future concussions after educational intervention (χ(2) = 8.54, df = 2, N = 454, P = 0.014). There were no differences between sexes regarding rationale for not reporting a concussion (χ(2) = 6.42, df = 4, N = 454, P = 0.170). CONCLUSION: There is concern these athletes still fail to understand the severity and potential sequelae of concussion injury. Both sexes cited that concussion is not a serious enough injury to warrant reporting to a medical professional. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: High school athletes recover more slowly from concussions compared with college athletes; therefore, educating this population and promoting the importance of being knowledgeable regarding concussion recognition may increase reporting prevalence.