Save the date! Concussion Awareness Week is September 27–29
UPEI’s Concussion Awareness Program (CAP), in collaboration with the PEI Department of Health and Wellness, will celebrate Concussion Awareness Week from September 27– 29, 2021. Activities will include trivia night, an art contest, and an opportunity for all to engage with an interdisciplinary panel session.
On Rowan’s Law Day, Wednesday, September 29, we will commemorate the life of Rowan Stringer, an athlete whose tragic death led to nationwide strategies aimed at improving head injury awareness, policies, protocols, and care. We hope you can join us!
“By raising awareness of concussions and providing educational resources to athletes and community members, we can help create a safer sport culture on PEI,” said Minister of Health and Wellness Ernie Hudson. “We must continue to work together to learn more about what we can do to support those who have suffered from a concussion.”
The Concussion Awareness Program is composed of a multidisciplinary team from the UPEI Health Centred Research Clinic. The CAP focuses on concussion educational outreach, research, and clinical care for members of the University and the Island.
Educational presentations are made available to individuals or organizations within the province such as athletes, students, coaches, referees, and parents. The CAP emphasizes the importance of safe/fair play, concussion assessment, and safe management. Topics reviewed include concussion recognition and detection, signs and symptoms of a concussion, treatment, return to play protocols, red flags, and second impact syndrome.
Current research studies focus on the development of objective ways to measure concussion status and severity (e.g., blood tests), the usefulness of exercise rehabilitation after a head injury, concussion knowledge retention after education, and the assessment of concussion needs in the community across stakeholder groups (e.g., policies, procedures, and education).
The UPEI Concussion Clinic offers assessment and care for people who have experienced a recent head injury and continue to have symptoms that limit their ability to return to school, work, or physical activities. Initial assessments and referrals should be completed by primary care providers. The clinic is offered weekly at the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre in the W. A. Murphy Student Centre.
If you are interested in participating in a research study or would like to arrange concussion educational outreach, please get in contact with the CAP via email at concussion@upei.ca or by phone at 902-566-0827.
Keep up to date with the CAP on social media! We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Learn more at projects.upei.ca/concussion.
