Trends in Public Knowledge Pertaining to Traumatic Brain Injury From 2016 to 2025.

OBJECTIVE

Prior literature suggests that misconceptions surrounding traumatic brain injury (TBI) definition, short-term impact, and long-term implications are common. The current study sought to replicate and expand a previous survey to provide updated estimates regarding the frequency of TBI misconceptions within lay individuals from the United States.

METHOD: Data were collected from 438 individuals via an electronic survey. Participants completed 42 items designed to evaluate knowledge surrounding TBI.

RESULTS

The overall accuracy rate/percent answered correctly was 60%. Participants who reported having attended a seminar/workshop taught by an expert on concussion or having received formal concussion training (58%) demonstrated somewhat worse accuracy relative to those with no reported training (62%; p = .004). Participants who reported above average or greater exposure to discussion of head injuries and their outcomes in the media (58%) demonstrated slightly worse accuracy relative to those who reported average media exposure or less (61%; p = .013). There were no significant differences in accuracy between participants who: (i) reported having been formally diagnosed with ≥1 concussion by a healthcare professional, compared to those without a concussion history; (ii) reported any formal athletic participation relative to those without athletic participation; and (iii) participated in contact sports compared to those who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

High rates of TBI misconceptions remain and individuals remain vulnerable to the impact of the spread of misinformation across mass and social media.