Date of Conferral
2015
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Health Services
Advisor
Kimberly Dixon-Lawson
Abstract
Experiences of Youth Recreation Sport Organizations' Administrators with Implementation of Maryland Concussion Law
by
Donelle Damali Ainsworth-McKenna
MHSA, The George Washington University, 2004
BS, Morgan State University, 2000
Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Health Services
Walden University
September 2015
There have been statewide concussion policies implemented in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to address the problem of sports-related concussions in youth athletes. The efforts to implement the requirements of these laws have mainly focused on high school athletics, despite evidence that pre-high school youth athletes who participate in organized community sports through recreation sport organizations are sustaining concussions at a similar rate as high school athletes. Thus, this study explored the implementation of the Maryland concussion law in youth sports recreation organizations in Laurel, Maryland that serve pre-high school youth athletes aged 5-14 years. A qualitative approach was utilized to conduct this study. Administrators of such youth sports and recreation organizations were interviewed to answer the central research question about how the Maryland concussion law is being implemented in youth sport recreation organizations in the state. The diffusion of innovations theory was the theoretical framework used to guide this study as well as to explore barriers to and facilitators of implementing this policy. NVivo software was used to analyze the data, and the results identified concussion training, guidelines, resources, and policing as integral to implementation of the policy. These findings can be used to inform policies, implementation, and best practices for this policy. Thus the individual and community implications for positive social change include behavior change to prevent, identify, and manage concussions in youth athletes to reduce the potential impact of concussions in youth athletes.
Recommended Citation
McKenna, Donelle, "Experiences of Youth Recreation Sport Organizations' Administrators with Implementation of Maryland Concussion Law" (2015). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 1590.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1590
