Concussion Epidemiologist
Recruit kids at your high school from a variety of sports teams to perform baseline and periodic testing to track the incidence of head injuries in your community. Help your peers better understand the impact of sports on their brains, and help your school and community better protect its athletes!
There’s lots in the news these days about concussions and traumatic brain injuries. It’s had an impact on participation in youth sports like football, soccer and hockey. It’s also prompted schools to rethink concussion protocols and their approaches to issues ranging from practices to gear to staff training. A key part of understanding this important issue is studying kids as they play sports and measuring the effect, if any, on cognitive abilities, reaction times and other measures of brain health.
How do I get started? First, learn more about the issue (think: google searches, asking coaches and doctors). Download our PDF for some tips on how to organize your project. Then check out the following resources for help and inspiration:
Sports Concussion Institute’s information on Baseline Testing for Concussion
The Center for Disease Control’s HeadsUp program
PROAct, which travels between schools and performs tests in mobile labs.
Find out who’s studying these issues in your area and then run a study at your school that recruits athletes from a range of sports and (with the help of outside experts and trained professionals) tests them periodically. You can compile and publish the data. If done properly, and in connection with a state or national study, your school’s data can help scientists better understand the impacts of sports on teen brains (and how to improve safety equipment and/or modify the rules of youth spots to better protect kids in the future).
How much time will this take? This project will require a medium to high amount of time (estimate: 25-30 hours), especially if you remain involved in the monitoring and coordination process. You can spread it out over weeks or months, however, and there’s some flexibility as to when you start and launch the program.
How do I expand this narrative arc? Consider helping your school develop or modify its concussion protocol to reflect the latest thinking and evidence on brain safety in youth sports. Check out Create Concussion Protocols.
HOT TIP: This is a great example of a community impact project that can unite your interest in sports with an interest in science. It also has high potential to raise your profile with adults in your school and community.