Concussion reporting intentions for incoming military athletes and cadets

• Published in: Brain injury Vol. 36; no. 3; p. 332
• Main Authors: Anderson, Melissa N, D'Lauro, Christopher, Johnson, Brian R, Foster, Craig A, Schmidt, Julianne D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 23.02.2022
• Subjects: Athletes; Athletic Injuries - diagnosis; Brain Concussion - diagnosis; Female; Humans; Intention; Military Personnel; United States; United States; military cadets; costs; Concussion care seeking intentions; rewards
• ISSN: 1362-301X
• DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2022.2033841

Cultures of concussion reporting exist outside athletics; however, athlete-only studies dominate the literature. Comparing athletes and similar high-risk populations broadens our understanding of concussion reporting acculturation. We aimed to (1) describe and compare concussion self-report willingness as measured by anticipated concussion reporting (ACR), perceived costs, perceived rewards, brain health knowledge, and correct symptom identification for incoming cadets at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) (n = 1,136; female = 276, 24.43%) and (2) determine whether those variables predict ACR. Univariate analyses were performed to compare intercollegiate status, sex, and parental income for perceived costs and rewards, and brain health knowledge (α = 0.05) and multinomial logistic regressions to determine if those variables predicted ACR. A $40,000 parental increase in income resulted in one additional symptom identified (β = 0.80, p = 0.026). Athletes demonstrated greater brain health knowledge by nearly one symptom correctly identified (β = 0.98, p = 0.002); non-athletes reported significantly greater ACR (β = 5.92; p < 0.001). Our model accounted for 37% of the variance in ACR (χ2 = 393.86, p < 0.001, Nagelkerke R2 = 0.37). Before military acculturation, athletes had less intention to seek medical care for concussion, likely from prior athletic experiences.