Grant: Team Grant: Healthy Youth

One in nine youth ages 14-24 years sustain a concussion annually and 60% of these are sport-related concussions (SRC). Many youths suffer multiple SRCs and up to 30% will have symptoms for months. You-CAN SHRed Concussions Program will combine two successful Canadian concussion projects to reduce concussions and their consequences in youth. Prevention across 15 youth sports is the core focus of Pan-Canadian SHRed Concussions (Surveillance in High School and Community Sport to REDuce Concussions and their Consequences) (2018-2025). A SHRed youth advisory committee (YAC) is committed to program priorities that have reduced SRC rates in urban settings. A significant gap remains in under-represented youth communities including Indigenous, ethnic minorities, rural, girls, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Parasport. You-CAN (Youth Concussion Awareness Network) has empowered Canadian youth since 2017 to design and deliver concussion education through a peer-led program (e.g., annual concussion awareness campaigns, providing social support to a peer post-concussion. The three primary program objectives are: 1) To engage with equity deserving youth and community partners from across Canada to empower and enable them to lead the adaptation of existing concussion prevention and management interventions to local contexts. 2) To co-design and evaluate, with youth and community partners primary concussion prevention strategies and peer-led concussion education tailored to each equity deserving community (i.e., rural, Indigenous, Parasport) engaging girls, racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. 3) To identify targets for sustainability to support the long-term concussion prevention and management strategies within equity deserving youth communities. This program will inform reduction in SRC rates, burden, and consequences across equity deserving Canadian youth communities.