The main purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of an integrated interprofessional management (IPM) concussion care approach in varsity athletes.
The study was completed in a university environment with varsity athletes.
Data analysis was quantitative, as compared between seasons, in this observational cohort study.
The metrics for the effectiveness of the IPM team were: time spent in treatment and post-concussion symptom severity scores. These measures were compared for each season year and both sexes for the primary concussive domain they were initially diagnosed with.
University varsity athletes from various in-season teams.
A Kruskal-Wallis revealed that 2017/18 athletes spent a significantly shorter amount of time in treatment between the two seasons, median 29 days in the 2016/17 season year (IQR = 29) versus 13 days in the 2017/18 season year (IQR = 11), for both sexes (p = 0.009). It appears women tended to recover more quickly than men, particularly in the 2016/2017 season first year.
A highly communicative interprofessional management (IPM) strategy was shown to lead to reduced return to play (RTP) and return to learn (RTL) times. Increased experience as an IPM team may be a factor contributing to the effectiveness in IPM strategies as well as overall concussion treatment.

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