Grant: Project Grant

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. Concussions are very common. They typically result from falls, motor vehicle accidents, or sport/recreation collisions. At least 1 in 6 people who get a concussion have ongoing symptoms, such as headaches, poor sleep, difficulty concentrating, and irritability. Few treatments have proven effective for persistent concussion symptoms, in part because we do not have a good way to identify which symptoms worsen other symptoms in a given person (e.g., poor sleep making concentration and mood problems worse), and therefore which symptom should be treated first. A new method is available for creating a symptom "network" for an individual patient. The network is a type of map that shows which symptoms are most inter-connected with other symptoms. The main goal of the current study is to see if it is possible to get reliable symptom networks for individuals with concussion. We will recruit over 150 patients who seek hospital care for a concussion and are at risk for persistent symptoms. Participants will record their symptoms 5 times per day over 20 days on a smartphone app. Using this data, we will attempt to create symptom networks for each participant. We expect to demonstrate that most participants complete their daily recordings consistently and have a well-defined symptom network. Symptom networks could help doctors and therapists personalize treatment.