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New Zealand Caregiver Knowledge of Paediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2019

Dawn Willix-Payne ,
Nicola Starkey Open the ORCID record for Nicola Starkey [Opens in a new window]  and
Kelly Jones Open the ORCID record for Kelly Jones [Opens in a new window]
Dawn Willix-Payne
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Nicola Starkey*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Kelly Jones
Affiliation:
School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, National Institute of Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nicola.starkey@waikato.ac.nz
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Abstract

Background:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common among children. However, their caregivers’ knowledge and understanding of symptoms may influence how the injury is managed.

Primary objective:

To investigate the knowledge of New Zealand (NZ) parents about TBI and concussion.

Method and procedures:

Parents (n = 205) of children aged 5–13 years completed a pen-and-paper or online survey containing questions examining their knowledge of TBI terminology, TBI symptoms and knowledge about concussion management.

Main outcomes and results:

A high proportion (61%) of parents did not think that a concussion was the same as a brain injury. Loss of consciousness (LOC) was the most endorsed symptom of TBI. However, 69% of participants were aware that TBI could occur without LOC. On average, parents correctly identified 19.5 (67.3%) of the 29 symptoms of TBI, but also identified 2.0 (11.9%) of the 17 distractor symptoms as being TBI related. Demographic factors and experience of TBI/concussion were associated with TBI symptom identification accuracy and concussion knowledge.

Conclusions:

Further education of parents is needed to ensure they recognise the signs and symptoms of concussion/mild TBI so that they can make informed decisions on how best to manage their child’s injury.

Keywords

Mild traumatic brain injuryconcussionknowledgesymptomsterminology
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 47 - 64
Copyright
© Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2019 

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