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Sports-Related Injuries among High School Athletes in the United States and Their Use of Protective Equipment

Collins, Christine Lee
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428571487

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Public Health.
High school sports play an important role in the adoption and maintenance of a physically active lifestyle among millions of adolescents in the United States (US). Despite the numerous health benefits of participating in sports, high school athletes are at risk of sports-related injury as a certain endemic level of injury can be expected among participants of any physical activity. Injury prevention in this population is often overlooked as sports-related injuries are thought to be unavoidable; however, up to one- half of all sports-related injuries among children may be preventable. The morbidity, mortality, and disability caused by high school sports-related injuries can be reduced through the development of effective prevention strategies including the addition and/or improvement of protective equipment. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the use of protective equipment among high school athletes, a primary prevention approach to preventing sports-related injuries, by utilizing data from a national high school injury surveillance system. The three specific aims were to: 1) investigate whether high school football concussion characteristics vary by helmet age/recondition status, manufacturer, and model; 2) estimate the rate of dental injuries among US high school athletes and describe the use of mouthguards in various high school sports; and 3) demonstrate how sports injury surveillance data can be used to inform evidence-based protective equipment policy discussions. This study found that for new and reconditioned football helmets, the most common helmet manufacturers and models on the market appear to provide US high school football players similar protection against concussion. This research also found that wearing a mouthguard in sports where there is potential for contact with another player or contact with playing apparatus may help to prevent or mitigate consequences of dental injuries. This result was found for sports that include contact such as football, field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse as well as for non-contact sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, and softball. Finally, this study found that similar to successful efforts in other public health areas, national sports injury surveillance systems can be used to provide the data needed to inform policy change resulting in improved athlete health and safety. Although the risk of injury while participating in sports may never be completely eliminated, the use of protective equipment, a primary prevention approach, is one way to reduce the risk of injury and keep athletes healthy and active. Injury rates among high school athletes need to be reduced to the lowest possible level without discouraging adolescents from participating in this important form of physical activity. This goal can best be accomplished by developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based preventive interventions including the use of protective equipment.
Lara McKenzie, PhD (Advisor)
R. Dawn Comstock, PhD (Committee Member)
Amy Ferketich, PhD (Committee Member)
Rebecca Andridge, PhD (Committee Member)
Huiyun Xiang, PhD (Committee Member)
90 p.
Epidemiology
Injury; High School; Protective Equipment; Football Helmet; Mouthguard

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Collins, C. L. (2015). Sports-Related Injuries among High School Athletes in the United States and Their Use of Protective Equipment [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428571487

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Collins, Christine. Sports-Related Injuries among High School Athletes in the United States and Their Use of Protective Equipment . 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428571487.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Collins, Christine. "Sports-Related Injuries among High School Athletes in the United States and Their Use of Protective Equipment ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428571487

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1428571487
932
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.