HS athletes must pass concussion test
PHOENIX – High school athletes in Arizona must now pass a concussion education exam to play a school sport.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association, Barrow Neurological Institute and the Arizona Cardinals teamed up to create the program, called Brainbook.
“[It] is an E-learning tool that is interactive,” said Dr. Javier Cardenas with Barrow Neurological Institute.
The program takes under an hour to complete, including the exam, and features videos and multiple choice questions on concussion awareness. Students must score an 80 percent on the exam in order to play a sport.
“This is concussion awareness,” Cardenas said. “This is concussion education.”
Approximately 7,000 Arizona high school students suffer a concussion every year.
Cardenas said the goal of the program is for students to better understand the signs of a concussion, and to help limit repeat injuries.
“One of the worst things you can do is to return to play too soon before you’ve recovered from your concussion,” Cardenas said. “That’s when those rare cases of death occur.
Arizona becomes the first state to mandate concussion education and require students pass an exam.
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