OU Health - Pediatric Neurology & Pediatric Neurosurgery / Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association

PROJECT PURPOSE

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life in Oklahoma. Within the secondary school system, COVID-19 has disrupted student athlete participation, and has impeded access to quality injury care. As a result, Oklahoma?s children today are playing less sports, getting less exercise and have less access to clinical concussion care than before the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation is amplified in light of the two unfortunate on-field fatalities in 2019 in Oklahoma that brought head impact safety to the forefront of the public conscience. While there are risks to playing sports, organized athletics develop discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, and fitness. Therefore, there is an urgent need to push back against the declines COVID-19 has placed on Oklahoma?s schoolchildren. The University of Oklahoma (OU Health) is proposing this cutting-edge project to counteract the negative impacts of COVID-19 on Oklahoma schoolchildren. Over roughly 12 months, OU Health will leverage approximately $3.1 million in ARPA funds to enhance and improve concussion care for about 5,000 Oklahoma schoolchildren, as well as increase access to high-quality clinical care statewide. The result will be heathier kids, and more kids benefiting from safe participation in sports across Oklahoma.

EVIDENCE

The interventions in the project have been validated by a recently concluded project, funded by the US Department of Defense, that deployed 2,500 impact monitoring mouthguards across 10 sites and proved the use of the head impact data as a 'check engine' warning system. Over two (2) years, about 50,000 head acceleration events (HAE) were measured, and about 50 'check engine' warnings were issued to the study subjects, their medical staff and unit commanders. These data established head impact norms and provided the necessary scientific ammunition for the DoD as to whether a ?check engine? warning is supported by hard data. In short, ?check engine? head impacts and concussions occurred only in the top 1% by magnitude, around the impact level of a sledgehammer hit to a helmeted head and above.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The 2019 SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all aspects of life across the United States as well as the State of Oklahoma. Within the secondary school system in Oklahoma, COVID-19 has disrupted school sports and been an impediment to easy access to quality injury care. In particular, the pandemic has exacerbated patient care for students in remote areas and provided challenges in urban areas by making parents nervous to put kids into contact with groups of potentially infected persons. As a result, Oklahoma?s children today are playing less sports, getting less exercise and have less access to clinical concussion care than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Because organized athletics develop invaluable life lessons like discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship and fitness, there is an urgent need to push back against the declines COVID-19 has placed on Oklahoma?s school children. Led by OU Health, in close partnership with OATA and its athletic trainers, this project will help to reinforce organized athletics participation and safe play across the state.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Any school that displays an inordinate number of single or cumulative impact doses during a day or week will trigger a notification. Remediation/treatment will take place via telemedicine and/or in person with concussion clinical care at the Pediatric Neurology Clinic at OU Health?s Children?s Hospital. Each of the school sites will be provided funding each month to have an athletic trainer, as well as an athletic training intern, to oversee day-to-day management of the impact monitoring mouthguards and student health. Impact monitoring mouthguards will be provided to each school. All necessary hardware, software and data analysis tools, and support will be included in sub-contractual agreement. Programmatic data will be uploaded by on-site athletic trainers and OU Health staff retained for the project.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma