Use of sport-related concussion information sources among parents of United States middle school children

OBJECTIVE: Parents may use various information sources to obtain information about sport-related concussions (SRC). This study examined SRC-related information sources used by parents of United States middle school children (age: 10–15 years). METHODS: A panel of 1083 randomly selected U.S. residents, aged ≥18 years and identifying as parents of middle school children, completed an online questionnaire capturing parental and child characteristics, and utilization and perceived trustworthiness of various sources of SRC-related information. Multivariable logistic regression models identified factors associated with utilizing each source. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) excluding 1.00 were deemed significant. RESULTS: Doctors/healthcare providers (49.9%) and other healthcare-related resources (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WebMD) (37.8%) were common SRC-related information sources; 64.0% of parents utilized ≥1 of these sources. Both sources were considered “very” or “extremely” trustworthy for SRC-related information among parents using these sources (doctors/healthcare providers: 89.8%; other healthcare-related resources: 70.9%). A 10-year increase in parental age was associated with higher odds of utilizing doctors/healthcare providers (adjusted odd ratio (OR(adjusted)) = 1.09, 95%CI: 1.02–1.16) and other healthcare-related resources (OR(adjusted) = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.03–1.19). The odds of utilizing doctors/healthcare providers (OR(adjusted) = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.40–0.84) and other healthcare-related resources (OR(adjusted) = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.44–0.93) were lower among parents whose middle school children had concussion histories versus the parents of children who did not have concussion histories. CONCLUSION: One-third of parents did not report using doctors/healthcare providers or other healthcare-related resources for SRC-related information. Factors associated with underutilization of these sources may be targets for future intervention. Continuing education for healthcare providers and educational opportunities for parents should highlight accurate and up-to-date SRC-related information.