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Schoolteachers' and Administrators' Perceptions of Concussion Management and Implementation of Return‐to‐Learn Guideline
Author(s) -
Romm Kaitlin E.,
Ambegaonkar Jatin P.,
Caswell Amanda M.,
Parham Candace,
Cortes Nelson E.,
Kerr Zachary,
Broshek Donna K.,
Caswell Shane V.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12687
Subject(s) - concussion , coaching , context (archaeology) , psychology , feeling , perception , medical education , applied psychology , guideline , occupational safety and health , poison control , injury prevention , medicine , social psychology , medical emergency , paleontology , pathology , neuroscience , psychotherapist , biology
BACKGROUND Concussions are a public health concern and concussion management in school requires a team approach. We examined schoolteachers' and administrators' perceptions of concussions, management, and implementation of return‐to‐learn (RTL) guidelines. METHODS We audio‐recorded and transcribed semistructured interviews with teachers (N = 16) and administrators (N = 6) from a public school system. We analyzed data using an analytic induction and constant comparison approach. RESULTS Two themes emerged: different understanding, and school context. Participants with no sport coaching experience were less familiar with concussions than those who coached a sport. Participants with personal experience with concussions were more sympathetic toward concussed students' needs. Teachers expressed feeling ill‐equipped to implement RTL guidelines without specific instructions in the complex school environment. However, school administrators had minimal understanding of teacher‐described challenges. CONCLUSIONS Teachers and administrators recognize that concussions are a health concern, but differ in their perceptions of concussions, management, and implementation of RTL guidelines. Personal experiences mediate individual perceptions about concussions. The daily realities of a school environment complicate teachers' capacity to implement RTL guidelines. Conversely, school administrators did not express awareness of any challenges with concussion management. To best facilitate students' recovery schools should include all stakeholders when devising concussion management policies.