Smart Phone & Tablet Apps for Youth Concussions
Gerard Gioia, PhD, Director of the SCORE Concussion program at Children’s National, has collaborated with colleagues at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and PAR Inc. to develop smart phone and tablet applications (apps) for youth coaches, parents, professional trainers, and healthcare professionals to help them recognize and respond to concussions.
The app for youth coaches and parents integrates information that Dr. Gioia developed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Heads Up initiative. Parents and coaches answer basic questions about the signs (what they observe) and symptoms (what an injured athlete reports) to determine if the athlete has suffered a suspected concussion and how to respond. Additionally, an email interface allows detailed information taken on the field to be sent immediately to the athlete’s parents and physician.
The app for healthcare professionals, called the Concussion Assessment and Response™: Sport Version (CARE-Sport Version) helps athletic trainers, team physicians, and other qualified health care professionals assess the likelihood of a concussion and respond quickly and appropriately to this potentially serious medical situation. From the instant a player is injured, the app guides trainers and healthcare professionals through a survey that helps rule out a cervical spine injury, evaluate concussion signs and symptoms, and assess cranial nerve function.
Dr. Gioia recently demonstrated how the app for youth coaches and parents works, illustrating the step-by-step questions used to determine whether an athlete may have suffered a concussion and including how to respond to a potential injury.
Download the Apps
For coaches and parents:
For athletic trainers and healthcare professionals: