Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2015
Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2015
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) establish and oversee a national system to accurately determine the incidence of sports-related concussions among youth, and (2) begin implementation of such system within one year of this Act's enactment.
Requires the data collected to include:
- the incidence of sports related concussions in individuals 5 through 21 years of age;
- demographic information of the injured individuals;
- pre-existing conditions of the injured individuals;
- the concussion history of the injured individuals;
- the use of protective equipment and impact monitoring devices;
- the qualifications of personnel diagnosing the concussions; and
- the cause, nature, and extent of the concussive injury.
Requires the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support:
- research designed to inform the creation of guidelines for the management of short- and long-term sequelae of concussion in youth;
- research on the effects of concussions and repetitive head impacts on quality of life and the activities of daily living;
- research to identify predictors, and modifiers of outcomes, of concussions in youth; and
- research on age- and sex-related biomechanical determinants of injury risk for concussion in youth.
Requires CDC to develop and disseminate to the public information regarding concussions.
Establishes a Concussion Research Commission, which shall study the programs and activities conducted pursuant to this Act and formulate systemic recommendations to increase knowledge about, and change the culture surrounding, concussions.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.