Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

A concussion is a serious injury. School-aged children and youth have the highest rates of concussion, with sport, physical activity and recreation incidents being the leading cause, followed by falls. Primary prevention of concussions and secondary prevention through timely and appropriate management when a concussion has occurred are the best ways to mitigate the long-term impacts of the injury on physical and mental health and well-being. The school setting is an important focus of health and safety efforts, including the prevention and management of injuries such as concussion. Policy-driven approaches at various levels have been shown to be effective for improving concussion recognition, reporting, management, and support for recovery. Ontario's Rowan's Law has requirements for sport organizations and extends to school boards through an update of PPM 158, and to universities for students up to age 25. Evaluation by the Canadian Concussion Centre of the effectiveness of PPM 158 since the introduction of Rowan's Law shows evidence of a levelling of the incidence of concussions in Ontario school-aged children. There isn't a harmonized approach to concussion legislation across Canada, with Ontario being the only province to have legislation. On September 16, 2024, Parachute convened 48 representatives from health, education, sport, injury prevention, academia, research and policy from nine provinces. Participants unanimously agreed that there is a need for a mechanism to continue communication amongst this group and for a repository for best practices, resources and approaches being employed by jurisdictions to support and inform others to support expansion of education and awareness to help position jurisdictions for concussion legislation. This project will address stakeholder needs develop a repository of research, policies, best practices, and resources to support knowledge exchange across jurisdictions and to inform concussion policy efforts across Canada.