Sports-related concussions (SRCs) are a public health problem. However, caregivers of youth athletes (CYAs) do not receive targeted education even though they are primary decision makers for youth athletes (YAs) who incur injuries. The purpose of this study was to understand CYA's SRC perceptions via the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Message Source Credibility in order to guide development of CYA SRC health education messages. Key informants (n = 20, e.g., sports personnel, medical practitioners, and researchers) who interact with CYAs and YAs and 30 CYAs (3 males, 27 females) from five different states were interviewed. Questions aimed to identify CYA's understanding of SRC prevention, recognition, treatment, and disposition through the framework of the HBM and message source credibility. CYAs had high-perceived severity of SRCs regardless of sport but mixed views of susceptibility. Despite receiving SRC education, CYAs consistently stated their own lack of understanding and low self-efficacy. The sources and amount of information CYAs receive are barriers to education. Therefore, a health communication intervention from a trusted source that focuses on HBM constructs like perceived susceptibility, education barriers, and cues to action both pre- and post-injury may fill the current educational gap.

中文翻译：

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青年运动员的照顾者：为脑震荡教育开发基于理论的健康交流干预

运动相关脑震荡 (SRC) 是一个公共卫生问题。然而，青年运动员 (CYA) 的照顾者即使是受伤的青年运动员 (YA) 的主要决策者，也没有接受有针对性的教育。本研究的目的是通过健康信念模型 (HBM) 和消息来源可信度了解 CYA 的 SRC 认知，以指导 CYA SRC 健康教育消息的开发。与来自五个不同州的 CYA 和 YAs 以及 30 名 CYAs（3 名男性，27 名女性）互动的关键知情人（n = 20，例如，体育人员、医生和研究人员）接受了采访。问题旨在通过 HBM 和消息来源可信度的框架来确定 CYA 对 SRC 预防、识别、治疗和处置的理解。无论运动如何，CYA 都具有高度感知的 SRC 严重性，但对易感性的看法不一。尽管接受了 SRC 教育，CYA 始终表示自己缺乏理解和低自我效能感。CYA 获得的信息来源和数量是教育的障碍。因此，来自可信赖来源的健康交流干预侧重于 HBM 结构，如感知易感性、教育障碍和受伤前和受伤后的行动线索，可能会填补当前的教育空白。