Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2017
This bill 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 bill's enactment.
The data collected shall 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.
The National Institutes of Health must 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.
The CDC shall develop and disseminate to the public information regarding concussions.
The bill establishes a Concussion Research Commission, which shall study the programs and activities conducted pursuant to this bill and formulate systemic recommendations to increase knowledge about, and change the culture surrounding, concussions.