Sports Related Head Injury: Competitive Cheerleading
The focus of this research was to determine the knowledge and perception of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among collegiate level competitive cheerleaders. Since cheerleading is responsible for half of the catastrophic injuries and 70% of the head injuries in women's sports, there is a clear need to determine what cheerleaders understand about TBI. A questionnaire, which had been previously written concerning sports related head injury, will be administered electronically and in-person to college students. I expect to find that (a) cheerleading head injuries occur more often than previously thought; (b) cheerleaders may experience more concussions with only those severe concussions being identified; (c) a qualitative and quantitative account of the knowledge and perception of traumatic brain injuries among cheerleaders will yield a more holistic view of what competitive cheerleaders know about TBI. Results will provide important information on how to plan education and prevention programs for TBI among collegiate cheerleaders.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Speech and Hearing Science
Research Advisor:
Adele Proctor
Department of Research Advisor:
Speech and Hearing Science
Year of Publication:
2007