ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Two-thirds of parents worry their children in school sports could get a concussion, U.S. researchers say.
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health -- conducted May 1-17 -- indicates nearly half of the parents did not know if their child's school had a concussion policy.
The survey involved parents of 291 children ages 12-17 who play school sports. One-third of young athletes' parents said they did not know a second concussion occurring before a child's brain recovers from the first increases the chances of long-term neurologic affects.
Researchers find youth athletes are more likely to sustain concussions -- and to take longer to recover from concussions -- than adults.
"Even though parents of youth athletes lack awareness about effects of repeat concussions, they demonstrate strong support for strategies to minimize the risk of concussion," poll researcher Sarah Clark of the University of Michigan says in a statement.
The sample was randomly taken from a standing panel closely resembling the U.S. population from online research firm, Knowledge Networks. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The margin error was 4 percentage points to 8 percentage points.
