Abstract
Background: Concussions are a serious public health concern, however athletes with intellectual disability are often underrepresented in research. Concussion rates and causes within Special Olympics Canada (SOC) are unknown.
Purpose: Co-create a Concussion Surveillance Tool relevant to athletes with intellectual disability and understand the importance of the tool and its items.
Methods: A nominal group technique (NGT) was conducted, which allows structured sharing of ideas. Two concepts were considered: 1) concussion-related information to collect, and 2) supports to promote concussion protocol adherence. Participants voted for all final ideas (1=not important to 5=very important) and items that reached 75% consensus were included in the tool. NGTs were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically.
Results: Six participants (4 men, 2 women; 41-80 years; 5 coaches, 1 physician) completed the NGT across 3 meetings. Thiry-eight ideas for concept 1 (surveillance) and 36 ideas for concept 2 (supports) were identified. Twenty ideas reached consensus and were included in the tool. Items were collated into four categories: 1) demographics (e.g., concussion history); 2) incident description (e.g., cause of injury); 3) athlete injury description (e.g., symptoms); and, 4) follow-up recommendations (e.g., athlete supports at home). Four themes were identified: 1) gaps in current practice; 2) importance of surveillance items included; 3) helpful medical handover processes; and, 4) considerations for athletes with intellectual disability.
Discussion: The Concussion Surveillance Tool will allow SOC and researchers to gather concussion incident information. Use of the tool will improve concussion management and identify gaps where concussion education and prevention can be prioritized.
