The development and evaluation of a concussion education workshop for Gaelic games
Siobhán O’Connor, Cliona Devaney, Enda Whyte, Aoife Burke
PLOS One
School of Health and Human Performance
Abstract

Concussions are frequent in Gaelic games and risky behaviours following a concussion are common. With the imminent integration of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Ladies Gaelic Football Association and Camogie Association, the development of a standardised concussion education initiative for all Gaelic games members is warranted. Thus, we aimed to develop a standardised concussion education workshop and evaluate if it improves concussion knowledge and attitudes in the Gaelic games community. A once-off concussion education workshop was developed in collaboration with the Gaelic games governing bodies and was delivered to 95 participants. Participants completed a survey (demographics, ROCKaS and the Perceptions of Concussion Inventory for Athletes [PCI-A]) pre-workshop and 1-month post-workshop (n = 55). Wilcoxon signed rank tests examined the differences pre- and 1-month post-workshop. One-month post-workshop, most participants strongly agreed/agreed that they can recognise concussion signs and symptoms (98.2%), know what to do in the event of a potential concussion (98.2%) and understand return to play guidelines (96.3%). Concussion knowledge (r = 0.34, p < 0.001), clarity (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) and control (r = 0.25, p = 0.01) significantly improved following the workshop. While concussion attitudes improved, the difference was not significant. No significant differences in anxiety, effects, treatment and symptom variability were noted from the PCI-A. A once-off time-efficient standardised concussion education workshop can enhance participants’ concussion knowledge, clarity of concussion and beliefs of how much control they have over the outcomes of a concussion. A national rollout of the standardised concussion education workshop across the Gaelic games community, implemented as part of a wider concussion initiative, is recommended.