Development of a measure of parent concussion management knowledge and self-efficacy

Assessing parent readiness to support post-concussion management requires valid and reliable measures. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop and conduct preliminary tests of reliability and validity of survey measures of parent concussion management knowledge and self-efficacy. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that among parents of youth who sustained a concussion, higher scores on measures of knowledge and self-efficacy would predict greater likelihood of engaging in recommended concussion management behaviors during their child’s recovery. Measure development occurred with reference to parenting behaviors included in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) management guidelines. A multi-stage mixed methods approach was employed, including expert review, cognitive interviews with parents, quantitative item reduction and tests of reliability and validity. All participants were English-speaking parents of school-aged children in the United States. A stepwise measure development process was followed, with different participant groups across steps (including opt-in web-based survey panels and in-person recruitment from the population of parents of pediatric patients seen in a large pediatric emergency department). In total, 774 parents participated in study activities. The final knowledge index had 10 items, and final self-efficacy scale had 13 items across four subscales (emotional support, rehabilitation support, monitoring, and external engagement). Internal consistency reliability was 0.63 for the knowledge index and 0.79-0.91 for self-efficacy sub-scales, and validation tests were in the hypothesized directions. In a test of predictive validity, we observed that among parents of recently youth patients with concussion, higher self-efficacy scores at the time of discharge from the pediatric emergency department were positively correlated (r=0.12) with greater likelihood of engaging in recommended support behaviors at two-week follow-up. There was no association between concussion management knowledge at discharge and parenting behaviors at follow-up. Parents have the potential to play an important role in concussion management. The measures of knowledge and self-efficacy developed in this study can help identify parent needs and evaluate interventions aiming to support parenting post-concussion.