Neck strength and concussion prevalence in athletes.
INFORMATION SHEET
GU Ref No: 2023/062
Who is conducting the research
Dr Joel Garrett1,
Dr Thomas McGurkian2,
Mr Marco Mastrococco3,
Dr Dan Van Den Hoek4,
Dr Hunter Bennett5,
Mr Petrus du Plessis,
Dr Daniel Brown1,
Dr Felix Leung1,
Dr Julie Hides1,
Dr Kerry Peek6
1 Griffith University, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Southport, Queensland, Australia.
2 Australian Catholic University, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
3 Athletix – Human and Sport Performance, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
4 University of Sunshine Coast, School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
5 University of South Australia, Allied Health and Human Performance, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
6 The University of Sydney, Discipline of Physiotherapy, Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Australia.
Contact Details:
Joel Garrett: joel.garrett@griffith.edu.au
Thomas McGuckian: Thomas.McGuckian@acu.edu.au
Marco Mastrococco: info@athletix.com.au
Dan van den Hoek: dvandenhoek@usc.edu.au
Hunter Bennett: Hunter.Bennett@unisa.edu.au
Petrus du Plessis: pduplessis3@googlemail.com
Daniel Brown: daniel.a.brown@griffith.edu.au
Felix Leung: f.leung@griffith.edu.au
Julie Hides: j.hides@griffith.edu.au
Kerry Peek: kerry.peek@sydney.edu.au
Why is the research being conducted?
There are a number of proposed strategies to aid in mitigating risks of sports-related concussions. However, it is currently not known what is being conducted at varying levels of sport and what the perceptions are of the health professionals working with athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand the current strategies being employed by health professionals to help mitigate risks of sports-related concussion.
What you will be asked to do
After consenting to be involved in the study, a survey will be presented for participants to complete online. The survey will include information about the use of strategies employed by the health professionals at your organisation or with your individual athletes to help mitigate risks of sports-related concussion.
The survey will include the ability to include contact information. You will have the ability to enter this information if you wish to be contacted for participation in future work.
The basis by which participants will be selected or screened
To be eligible to participate, you must be a health professional (doctor, physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach etc.,) working with athletes at any level of sport.
The expected benefits of the research
Obtaining an understanding of the current strategies to reduce the risk factors of sports-related concussion will enable research to focus on current strategies to better understand their underlying benefits. Furthermore, this will assist in forming approaches to overcome current barriers in implementing injury risk strategies that are currently experienced within the field.
Risks to you
With any study there are (1) risks we know about, (2) risks we don't know about, and (3) risks we don't expect. If you experience something that you aren't sure about, please contact us immediately so we can discuss the best way to manage your concerns. In the case of this research, there are no foreseeable risks to you.
The University has an insurance policy which covers research participants who take part in research studies approved by the human research ethics committee at Griffith University. This study has been approved (GU Ref No: 2023/062) by the human research ethics committee at Griffith University.
Your consent
By proceeding with the survey, this tells us you want to take part in the study. All aspects of this study will be strictly confidential. There will be no photographs or video recordings of you performing any of the exercise tasks. No study or published document will identify you personally. Rather, a unique alphanumeric code will be used as a reference for each person’s data and stored in password protected Griffith University storage (Research Storage OwnCloud). It is planned to publish the results of this study in academic journals specialising in sports science (e.g. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Sports Medicine, and British Journal of Sports Medicine) and at sport science conferences (e.g. Research in Practice, Australian Strength and Conditioning). Data presented will be de-identified, presented as aggregated data and no names will be published or presented in any reports to ensure confidentiality is maintained. All data, both personal and that is collected throughout your participation from the above procedures will be kept completely confidential and will only be accessible by the researcher/s involved within this study. Research data will be stored securely for a minimum of five years before deletion.
The conduct of this research involves the collection, access, storage and/or use of your identified personal information. The information collected is confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent, except to meet government, legal or other regulatory authority requirements. A de-identified copy of this data may be used for other research purposes, including publishing openly (e.g. in an open access repository). However, your anonymity will at all times be safeguarded. For further information consult the University's Privacy Plan at http://www.griffith.edu.au/about-griffith/plans-publications/griffith-university-privacy-plan or telephone (07) 3735 4375.
Your participation is voluntary
Participation in this project is entirely voluntary. You are free to deny consent before, during, or after the experiment without prejudice or penalty. If you no longer want to complete the survey, simply close the web browser. If you change your mind after clicking on the 'Submit' button, we can withdraw your responses if you tell us your unique identifier code. Your decision to withdraw at any point will not affect your relationship with Griffith University of any of the research team.
Questions / further information
Questions concerning the procedures and or rationale used in this investigation are welcome at any time. Please ask for clarification at any point you feel is not explained to your satisfaction. Your initial contact person is Dr Joel Garrett (email: joel.garrett@griffith.edu.au).
The ethical conduct of this research
Griffith University is committed to researcher integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. However, if potential participants have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project they should contact the Manager, Research Ethics on 3735 4375 or research-ethics@griffith.edu.au.
Feedback to you
If you would like to receive a summary of the study findings at the completion of this trial, please indicate this on the consent form and the contact details for the research team to contact you with the overall findings and results of the research.
