Minority and Underserved Youth Learning about Concussions through Virtual Environments

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Abstract A 2019 study from the CDC estimated 812,000 children (age 17 or younger) were treated in U.S. emergency departments for concussion or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), alone or in combination with other injuries in 2014. Another recent study, which specifically focused on children’s sports and recreation-related TBIs found the number of related emergency department visits averaged more than 283,000 annually, during 2010-2016. Concussions are the most common form of TBI. The CDC recommended focused efforts on educating youth athletes regarding the risks of concussions. African Americans comprise the majority of underserved, low- income student athletes in urban communities across the United States. A 2018 study found that African American adolescent athletes exhibited less concussion knowledge and were less likely to recognize concussion symptoms compared to Caucasian athletes. Research suggests a greater risk of neurocognitive impairment following sport-related concussion (SRC) in African American athletes. Effects of TBI can include impairments related to thinking or memory, movement, sensation (e.g., vision or hearing), and emotional functioning (e.g., personality changes and depression). These issues not only affect individuals but also can have lasting effects on families and communities. This Phase I SBIR project will develop an innovative game- based learning system that educates students about concussions. The target audience is students in their middle school years (Grades 6-8), with the information placed in the context of students’ lives and the influencing factors that matter to them. This lines up with the health curriculum used in most states, and the corresponding national standards. The students will also learn content related to concussions, including age appropriate introductions to neuro-behavioral theory, human information processing, scientific models, real- world cognitive testing tools, and examples of how they are used by scientists and medical professionals in concussion research and treatment. The students are introduced to an online virtual world where they are exposed to several narratives focused on concussions. Combined with these narratives, they play games which reinforce and gauge their learning, with the games designed to play differently each time based on user decisions and actions. The games/scores would be accessible/observable by the teacher, allowing for group discussion and incentives, tracking of learning outcomes, and integration of gameplay effectively into daily classroom activity centered on the relevant curricula. This game-based learning system will be evaluated in two middle schools chosen to represent a sampling of urban and rural schools, and racial and ethnic diversity. User testing with both students and teachers will be conducted to evaluate the usability, feasibility, and effectiveness of the game-based learning system.