Nov 2019
Concussion
Introduction
Each year, around 150,000 Ontarians experience a concussion.
This tool supports primary care providers in the diagnosis and management of concussion in adult patients (≥18 years). The tool helps guide the assessment and diagnosis of concussion, and steps to create a tailored management and recovery plan with the patient. It also contains various resources for monitoring and follow-up visits.
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Information
About the tool
The Diagnosing and Managing Concussion Tool was developed to support primary care providers in performing consistent diagnostic assessments that leads to more tailored and comprehensive management plans based on patient symptoms and needs.
The tool promotes a gradual return to activities approach, which encourages providers to emphasize to patients that tolerable activities will help speed recovery.
Various sections of the tool can be completed during the patient encounter, including a symptom monitoring log that can be given to the patient directly.
The Managing and Diagnosing Concussion Tool was developed using the Centre for Effective Practice’s (CEP’s) integrated knowledge translation approach. This approach ensures that providers are engaged throughout the development processes through the application of user-centred design methodology. Clinical leadership of the resource was provided by Dr. Tara Baldisera and Shannon Kenrick. End users and people with lived experiences were also engaged to provide feedback.
The Concussion Tool was funded by and developed in collaboration with the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.
Clinical leads
Tara Baldisera
MD
Dr. Tara Baldisera is a family physician in Sudbury, Ontario with hospital privileges at Health Sciences North. She is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean, Clinical Education, in the Undergraduate Medical Education Program at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. She is a member of the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) Concussion Advisory Committee. She practices alongside Shannon Kenrick-Rochon as part of an interprofessional concussion management team. She and her colleagues are passionate about developing concussion education initiatives for both the public and primary care providers in their community.
Shannon Kenrick-Rochon
MN, NP-PHC
Shannon is a professor at Cambrian College and Laurentian University, and lecturer at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. She completed a fellowship with RNAO (ED presentations of concussion) in 2015, is involved in research on interprofessional concussion care and sits on the Health Quality Ontario Concussion Quality Standard Advisory Committee. She practices alongside Tara Baldisera as part of an interprofessional concussion management team. Along with concussion education and sports medicine, she focuses her practice in hormone replacement therapy.
Clinical Working Group
- Lisa Fischer, BScPT , MD, CCFP (SEM) , FCFP, DipSportMed
- David Greenberg, BA, MD
- Shawn Marshall, MSc, MD, FRCPC
- Dawn Tymianski, MN, MA, PhD, NP-Adult
- Diana Velikonja, PhD, CPsych, MScCP
Thank you to all of our members for their work!
Conflict of interest
Clinical leads received compensation for their role.
Focus group and usability participants received a small token of appreciation (e.g. gift certificate).