Concussion Management Practices Among Primary Care Professionals Who Care for Children and Adults With Concussions—2023 DocStyles Survey

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess whether primary care professionals' self-reported concussion management practices are consistent with clinical guideline recommendations from leading health organizations. SETTING: 2023 DocStyles online national market research survey of US primary care professionals. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand three hundred eighteen primary care professionals who see patients with concussion. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. MAIN MEASURES: Primary care professionals' self-reported practices related to return to activity (physical, cognitive, social), work/school accommodations, provision of follow-up instructions, and screening for risk factors for persistent symptoms. All data were analyzed using SAS and differences were examined using χ2 tests. RESULTS: Among the 1318 primary care professionals who saw a patient with a concussion in the past 12 months, about one-third of participants self-reported that they do not provide recommendations or provide recommendations on return to physical (42.6%), cognitive (33.5%), and social (38.5%) activities that do not align with clinical recommendations. Most (78.0%) provided follow-up instructions more than 75% of the time. Only about half of participants self-reported providing work/school accommodations (52.0%) and screening for risk factors of persistent symptoms (54.6%) more than 75% of the time; findings varied by specialty, years of medical practice, and urbanicity of healthcare facility. CONCLUSION: This study found that many participants' self-reported concussion management practices do not align with clinical recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others. Use of clinical care pathways, and other promising strategies to improve adherence to guideline recommendations, may be beneficial.