Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2017

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.