Care for Post-Concussive Symptoms

The proposed study is a pilot randomized trial of a stepped collaborative care intervention designed to decrease post-concussive symptoms and improve post-injury functioning among sports-injured youth aged 11-17. Participants with persistent post-concussive symptoms (symptoms persisting at least two months post-injury) will be recruited from Seattle Children's Hospital departments of sports medicine and rehabilitation medicine. Consent and assent will be obtained in-person. Participants will be randomized to receive either the stepped collaborative care intervention, or treatment-as-usual. Participants will be assessed on a range of symptoms and areas of functioning at four time points: 0 months, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after enrollment. The primary hypothesis is that the intervention group athletes, when compared to usual care control group athletes, will demonstrate clinically and statistically significant reductions in postconcussive, anxiety, and depressive symptoms over the course of the 6-month study. Secondary analyses will assess the impact of the intervention on functional impairment including missed school days and other academic outcomes. Exploratory analyses will examine MRI findings that are characteristic of postconcussive neuropathology, if available in medical record, as predictors of treatment responses.