UGA to lead study on Concussion Intervention Strategy
University of Georgia researchers have announced a study to address ways to reduce the stigma surrounding concussions, an injury so commonly associated with football.
Funded by a three-year, $400,000 grant from the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense, Julianne Schmidt, an assistant professor in the UGA College of Education’s kinesiology department, and Welch Suggs, an associate professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, are creating intervention methods to help athletes seek assistance after they have suffered a concussion.
A survey will be conducted to determine athletes’ knowledge and attitudes toward concussions, and the results will be used to create an intervention strategy delivered in multiple platforms. Parents and coaches will be involved in the process as well, which will help reinforce among the athletes the importance of reporting a concussion.
The research team also includes Ron Courson, director of sports medicine for the UGA Athletic Department; Fred Reifsteck, UGA’s head team physician; coaches and athletes at Division II and III schools in Georgia; and Laura Bierema, associate dean for academic programs in the College of Education