Project: Parent and student knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of sports injuries and feasibility of expanding athletics activities diversity in a community non-profit organization.
Working in partnership with Beacon House in DC’s Ward 5, Colleen Packard gathered data to assess parent and student perceptions of youth sports, and readiness to expand interest from tackle football to sports with less risk for young athletes.
Colleen Packard was a Masters student in Community-Oriented Primary Care in the Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Read more about her research below, and read more about the Nashman Prize here.
Colleen did research with Beacon House, a non-profit organization located in the Edgewood Commons complex of Washington, DC whose mission is to close the education achievement gap for children in Ward 5. Beacon House’s athletics program is a signature offering of the organization, and the tackle football program is the largest and most successful of the sports offered.
However, with increased awareness of concussion risk in youth sports, Beacon House requested this research be done in order to adequately inform any future action by its administration. The purpose of this study was to conduct an assessment of parent and student perceptions of youth sports injuries. The study also surveyed Beacon House parents and students to see how the athletics program could potentially expand in the future. The mixed-methods study utilized survey measures and focus groups to measure both parent and student knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of concussions. The athletics interest form furthermore showed which sports parents and students are interested in playing, either in lieu of or in addition to tackle football. All methods were reviewed by Beacon House before beginning data collection, and Beacon House staff were integral to participant recruitment.
