“But…I don’t feel recovered”: Enhancing concussion care in partnership with youth who have experienced ‘prolonged recovery’

Youth concussion rates are rising nationally. Accordingly, efforts are being made to enable the recovery of injured youth. However, little is known about what recovery ‘is’ from the perspective of youth (eg, the care youth need to support recovery). This represents a major gap in knowledge of youth concussion. This research project will partner with youth living with ‘prolonged’ recovery to produce urgently needed insights into their concussion care experiences. It will also refine a research design that leverages the expertise of youth to inform a more supported approach to concussion care that attend to diverse visions of recovery. In the context of a film screening event, 8-10 participants (15-24 years) living with concussion (=4 weeks) will view short films of ‘recovery’ produced by youth in a related project. Participants will then engage in a focus group to explore their reactions to the films, their own care-related experiences, and how the care they received did (or did not) meet their priorities. The knowledge generated is expected to contribute to a (re)visioning of care that accounts for diverse experiences of ‘recovery’. Outputs will include an actionable list of recommendations for youth-informed concussion care and plain language summaries that will be shared widely (with youth, families, clinicians, general public), and housed on the partner organization’s website. Longer term, this research has the potential to reorient concussion care to the real-world needs and priorities of young Canadians. This research will affirm Holland Bloorview as a leader in youth-centered concussion research, supports, and services.

Faculty Supervisor:

Gail Teachman

Student:

Partner:

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Retail trade

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: