Investigators:
- Nick Reed
- Philippe Fait
- Christine Provvidenza
- Dayna Greenspoon
What was this study about?
Research and clinical practice in pediatric concussion is growing. The pediatric concussion experience is not the same as the adult concussion experience. Opportunities are needed to bring together experts from research, healthcare, education, youth and sport communities to: a) share knowledge; b) promote collaboration (working together); and c) build consensus to determine how to best meet the growing needs of all those impacted by pediatric concussion (e.g. youth, parents, coaches, teachers, researchers, healthcare professionals, organizations).
What did we do?
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital hosted One Voice: the 1st International Symposium on Pediatric Concussion on June 3rd & 4th, 2015. This event is the very first of its kind in pediatric concussion. One Voice brought together champions in clinical, research, education, youth and sport communities. Partnerships across Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia were formed through 63 leaders working towards an action plan to help children with concussion. This was achieved through knowledge sharing webinars and a symposium event. One Voice was successful in generating and sharing knowledge, and inspiring the pediatric concussion community to work together to develop a plan to help identify over the next 3-5 years, what we need to do to help children with concussion do the things they want, need and love to do.
Impact for clients, families and clinical practice
The action plan developed at the One Voice symposium will help guide research, education and clinical care services provided at Holland Bloorview and potentially around the world with all those affected and/or involved in concussion.
What did we learn?
Phase I was successful in generating and sharing knowledge and inspiring the pediatric concussion community to work together to develop a plan over the next 3-5 years, to identify what we need to do to help kids with concussions do the things they want, need and love to do.
Three strategic directions were identified:
- Connecting Kids to Care: building and connecting networks, making better use of existing resources, and design a care system that can be easily accessed
- Moving Facts Forward: create knowledge and develop a plan to effectively share information
- Driving Big Change: develop an informed media and awareness campaign
A goal of the symposium was to inspire the pediatric community to work together to move pediatric concussion forward. Feedback that was shared by the participants included that they:
- will share the results and outcomes of the day with others
- will help address the items in the action plan
- feel confident in the next steps to take to address pediatric concussion; and
- believe that new collaborations are likely to be created as a result of the action plan.
Next steps
The challenge is how do we work towards accomplishing this action plan while growing our partnerships? Phase II aims to pilot a model that can be used to ensure that stakeholders continue to work together towards achieving the goals outlined in the action plan over the next 5 years. We will be developing a series of Communities of Practice (CoPs) to improve communication and collaboration across concussion disciplines. Ultimately, this model will result in individual CoPs achieving yearly goals that will impact research, clinical and education in pediatric concussion.