Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program: structure, methods and initial results. Issue 2 (19th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bohr, Adam D; Aukerman, Doug F; Harmon, Kimberly G; Romano, Russell; Hernández, Theresa D; Konstantinides, Niki; Petron, David J; Ghajar, Jamshid; Giza, Christopher; Poddar, Sourav K; McQueen, Matthew B
• Is Part Of: BMJ open sport & exercise medicine. Volume 7:Issue 2(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-05-19
• Subjects: concussion -- injury -- sport; Sports medicine -- Periodicals; Exercise therapy -- Periodicals; 617.102705
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001055
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2055-7647

Abstract

Abstract : Sport-related concussion has garnered increasing scientific attention and research over the last decade. Collegiate student-athletes represent an important cohort in this field. As such, the Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program (CAP) was formed in 2017 as a regional hub of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) consortium. CAP is multisite, prospective, longitudinal study that aims to improve student-athlete health by identifying factors associated with concussion incidence and recovery and using this knowledge to inform best clinical practices and policy decisions. CAP employed a staggered rollout across the Pac-12, with the first four institutions enrolling in fall 2018. After receiving institutional review board (IRB) approval, these institutions began consenting student-athletes to share clinical concussion and baseline data for research purposes. Athletes completed baseline testing that included a medical questionnaire, concussion history and a battery for clinical concussion assessments. Concussed student-athletes were given the same battery of assessments in addition to full injury and return to play reports. Clinicians at each university worked with a data coordinator to ensure appropriate reporting, and the Pac-12 Concussion Coordinating Unit at the University of Colorado Boulder provided oversight for quality control of the data study wide. During year 1, CAP consented 2181 student-athletes and tracked 140 concussions. All research was conducted with the appropriate IRB approval across the participating Pac-12 institutions. Data security and dissemination are managed by the Presagia Sports Athlete Electronic Health Record software (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and QuesGen Systems (San Francisco, California, USA).