News
The CDC Foundation Releases New Concussion App and Website
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 170,000 young athletes every year are taken to their local emergency department for a possible sports or recreation-related traumatic brain injury or concussion. Parents and coaches are the best way to prevent brain injury, but to do so they have to understand what these injuries are and what the symptoms look like.
To help inform the parents and coaches that form the best defense against concussions, the CDC Foundation, working with the CDC, has created the Heads Up to Parents app and website. They aim to offer useful tools for parents, coaches, and others working with young teens or children everywhere they go. That way, if a child suffers a brain injury on the field, the coach has the tools to help identify it in his pocket.
The website has numerous areas including:
- Videos – Personal stories are shared by parents, teens, and even professional athletes who have been affected by brain injuries in different ways, as well as offering advice on concussion ad tips such as the proper way to wear a helmet.
- Customizable Fact Sheets – The latest information and tools from the CDC is prevent in ways so that parents can customize each with their child or teen’s team or school logo or colors, then print them out to keep them available.
- Tools and Tips – The best experts available in the community offer the best ways to protect your child while also telling adults how to identify brain injury.
- Training – Parents and coaches can take several online training courses to improve their own abilities to handle brain injury and follow the most up-to-date protocols.
The app is more focused on athletes and on-the-field advice, and as such it offers:
- Helmet Selector – The app helps parents learn about the way helmets should be sized, fit, cared for, and when they need to be replaced.
- Brain Injury Basics – While not as thorough as the website, the app gives the basic information every parent should know about brain injury and concussions and what to do if one occurs.
- Safety Tips – Get quick pointers on how to protect your child’s brain no matter what they are doing.
