Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Developing concussion assessment skills is a critical component of the school nurse's role. There is a lack of standardized concussion assessment tools for nurses in the school setting to quickly and accurately identify students who require further evaluation. The Acute Concussion Evaluation–Emergency Department (ACE-ED) tool is an evidence-based method of standardizing concussion assessments. A review of the literature supported the ACE-ED as a valid and reliable tool for concussion assessment. Registered nurses employed by a special education district in the suburban Midwest participated in the quality improvement project. Results showed a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy scores from pre-implementation to post-implementation. This project supports the ACE-ED as a reliable, standardized concussion assessment framework for use by nurses in the school setting. Potential exists for improving nursing self-efficacy of concussion assessments when the ACE-ED tool is used in schools, thus improving time for concussion treatment in school-age children.
Introduction
Concussions are the most common neurologic injury occurring in recreational and sports activities in the United States and are now recognized as a major public health problem globally (Almeida et al., 2018). A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report revealed 6.8% of children in the United States in 2020 had experienced symptoms of a concussion or brain injury in their lifetime, and the percentage increased with age from 2% in children aged 5 years and under to 12.2% in children aged 12 to 17 years (CDC, 2021).
A gap exists in the consistent use of an evidence-based concussion assessment tool in the school-age population. This gap affects the self-efficacy of nurses who are at the forefront of the assessment team when a child presents with concussion symptoms that may require further intervention. School nurses are faced with children of various cognitive abilities in the school setting and should be proficient and have self-efficacy in their assessment of this critical situation.
The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement an evidence-based concussion assessment tool to improve the self-efficacy of 30 staff registered nurses (RNs) regarding concussion assessment skills in a special education school district in the Midwest. To evaluate knowledge gained, nursing self-efficacy scores pre- and post-intervention were analyzed using responses from the Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (L-SES) survey (Kang et al., 2019).
Pediatr Nurs. 2022;48(5):248-253. © 2022 Jannetti Publications, Inc.
