Thank you. Good evening.
As you said, my name is Pamela Fuselli. I'm the Vice-President at Parachute Canada, Canada's national charity dedicated to injury prevention. Thank you for inviting me to speak to the committee on this important topic.
The purpose of this subcommittee aligns well with Parachute's vision to ensure Canadians live long lives to the fullest. As we reduce the incidence and long-term impact of concussions, Canadians can get back to participation in sport in their day-to-day lives.
Parachute acts as a bridge between research and policy-makers, the public, professionals and industry, translating research into key messages, tools, strategies and policies—basically, who needs to know what, how, where and when.
We also have topic experience. We've been undertaking targeted work at the national level, supported by federal funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, in collaboration with our partners from Sport Canada, in education, health, government and in consultation with our concussion expert advisory committee that comprises internationally recognized clinical and research professionals.
What are our recommendations that can inform this subcommittee's work?
The first is national uptake and implementation of best practice guidelines and tools. We've already made excellent advances to improve concussion education, recognition, prevention and management in Canada. We have strong foundational documents for a harmonized national approach based on the international consensus statement on concussion in sport, such as Parachute's Canadian guideline on concussion in sport and our harmonized concussion protocol template.
In addition to being evidence-based, it's critical that this approach be comprehensive, that it emphasize pre-season education and prevention, and that it be embraced within the culture of a sport organization. Since 2017 these documents have been adopted by over 40 national sport organizations as well as a number of provincial organizations and schools. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but we do need collective support to ensure the use of these expert-informed best practice resources by everyone.
Second is training for medical and health care professionals. Concussion education for health care professionals is required. It's essential for them to be knowledgeable of the most current clinical practice recommendations, for example, proper assessment and guidance regarding gradual return to activities. Parachute is sharing the latest and best information through the concussion awareness training tool for medical professionals, a free, online accredited training course that ensures information gets into the hands of experts. The potential implications of missed or poorly managed concussions makes proper assessment and management essential.
Third is education and awareness. The public is both focused on and confused with concussions. There are myths that are still perpetuated as well as a sense of fear that every concussion will be life-altering. Youth and their parents need current and credible information with clear actions that they can take themselves.
Parachute developed a suite of concussion fact sheets and a mobile app called Concussion Ed to help families understand the signs and symptoms, identify red flags that require immediate urgent medical attention, and steps to help manage a concussion. There are also tools, such as the Canadian Concussion Collaborative's four characteristics of a good concussion clinic to help families assess where they are obtaining care from. This education needs to be addressed to many audiences. It needs to be sustained and ongoing, contain relevant facts and actions, and ensure that the information sticks.
Fourth is research and evaluation. Knowledge about concussion has increased, but there is still much we don't know, especially about prevention. Canada is a leader internationally in the field of concussion and increased, long-term funding to support research will help our leadership to continue. Many of the interventions currently being implemented do not have adequately resourced evaluation plans to understand the impact, or not, of the interventions and how to best meet the needs of various audiences.
Fifth is beyond sport. While much attention has been on concussion in sport across all age groups in Canada, the majority of concussions are sustained through falls, motor vehicle crashes and daily living. Individuals who suffer concussions outside of sport participation also need guidance in their recovery, but may not receive attention because of the focus on concussion in sport. We need to bring greater attention to populations that we rarely talk about and those who live in rural and northern communities to ensure that they are receiving timely, equitable, qualified and cost-effective medical care.
These recommendations apply across the country in every province and territory. There is a significant need to strategize to reduce the fragmentation where some jurisdictions have been quite successful in developing standardized sport and school protocols as well as clinical pathways that ensure patients are receiving the highest standard of medical care, while other jurisdictions have not.
I believe and hope that this information will be valuable to inform the subcommittee's final recommendations.
Thank you.