Managing Concussions in New Zealand Secondary Schools: Let's Take It Seriously
Date
Authors
Skilton, Debbie
Zoellner, Anja
Badenhorst, Marelise
Mossman, Kate
Salmon, Danielle
Keung, Sierra
Thompson, Kylie
Lucas, Patricia
Walters, Simon
Sole, Gisela
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Concussion can cause lasting cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges, impacting academic performance. New Zealand secondary schools lack sufficient knowledge and resources to support affected students. We co-designed and implemented the Framework for Management of Concussion in New Zealand Secondary Schools (FRANCS). AIM: To explore experiences and perceptions of school stakeholders during 2 years of FRANCS implementation. METHODS: Sixty-nine participants from 12 schools (students, parents, staff, and healthcare providers) took part in semi-structured interviews or focus groups. Data were analyzed using framework analysis to identify themes. RESULTS: Four themes were developed: (1) Flexibility of implementation - friend or foe; (2) Owning the process; (3) The process is too onerous; and (4) External context and confounders. CONCLUSION: FRANCS' flexibility enabled some schools to adapt and integrate it into existing communication pathways, supporting students' return-to-learn. Others faced challenges, resource limitations, and low engagement. Effective implementation requires initial external support to tailor FRANCS to school contexts, establish communication and monitoring systems, and embed return-to-learn processes.Description
Keywords
Concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, qualitative methods, return-to-learn processes, secondary schools, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Rehabilitation, 3202 Clinical sciences, 4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science, 5203 Clinical and health psychology
Source
Brain Inj, ISSN: 0269-9052 (Print); 1362-301X (Online), Informa UK Limited, 1-12. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2026.2683510
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© 2026 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.