Schools’ concussion efforts criticized
BOSTON – Colleges remain inconsistent in the way they handle athletes’ concussions, according to a Harvard University study that comes more than four years after the NCAA began requiring schools to educate their players about the risks of head trauma and develop plans to keep injured athletes off the field.
In a survey that included responses from 907 of the NCAA’s 1,066 members, researchers found that nearly one in five schools either don’t have the required concussion management plan or have done such a poor job in educating their coaches, medical staff and compliance officers that they are not sure one exists.
The findings reinforce the images fans have seen: Wobbly players are sent back onto the field without proper medical clearance as coaches remain ignorant to their injury – perhaps willfully. The authors recommend that the NCAA bolster its 2010 policy to require schools to make their plans public, to better educate coaches about concussion symptoms and to require that schools not only come up with plans but actually apply them.