{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.07649667405764966, 'fraction_numerical': 0.05598669623059867, 'mean_word_length': 5.224137931034483, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Post-concussion driving management among athletic trainers

ABSTRACT Primary objective: To describe and compare athletic trainer (AT) post-concussion driving management practices and opinions. Research design: Cross-sectional. Methods & procedures: A survey was sent via email to 8,723 ATs (10.8% response rate[945/8723]) to capture demographics, management practices, and opinions (agreement on a seven-point Likert scale). We used Kruskal–Wallis tests to compare the percentage of patients instructed to refrain from driving across the highest earned a degree, setting, and years certified (alpha = 0.05). Main outcomes & results: When asked whether they recommended patients with concussion refrain from driving, 58.5%(n = 553/945) of ATs responded “sometimes”, 37.9%(n = 358/945) responded “always”, and 3.6%(n = 34/945) responded “never”. ATs responding “sometimes” or “always” estimated that they instruct 57.6 ± 37.6% of patients with concussion to refrain from driving. ATs most commonly: recommended that patients refrain from driving until symptom resolution(44.7%,n = 399/892); utilized their clinical exam (patient interview/history) to determine when a patient could resume driving(64.9%,n = 579/892); and provided instructions verbally(94.2%,n = 840/892). High school(60.5 ± 37.6%) and clinical ATs(66.5 ± 31.2%) trended toward higher percentages of patients they instruct to refrain from driving relative to college(52.3 ± 38.2%; χ2(2) = 5.92,p = .052). Conclusions: ATs recommend driving restrictions to some, but not all, patients with concussion. Overall, ATs recognize post-concussion driving dangers, but do not strongly endorse refraining from driving after a concussion. High school and clinical ATs may manage more adolescent novice drivers and, therefore, act more conservatively.