Return-to-Learn (RTL) is a fast, comprehensive assessment program for any high school student with a concussion. Establishing a student-centered RTL program may help reduce disparities in RTL care. A new study out of the University of Washington Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (UW HIPRC) implemented an RTL program in geographically and characteristically diverse sample of Washington high schools during the 2021-2022 school year.
Ten schools established a functional RTL program. The study team also reported a reduction in perceived variation and inequities in RTL care after establishing RTL programs in schools across the state.
The RISE Bundle implementation process proved feasible, supported the establishment of a functional RTL program, and perceived to reduce disparities in concussion care in rural and urban WA public high schools of varying sizes.
The study was published in the Journal of NeuroRehabilitation June 2023 special issue, “Pediatric Educational Reentry after TBI.” This research was supported in part by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and foundry10.
Investigators on this study represent: the University of Washington Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center; The Departments of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine; UW School of Social Work; The UW Department of Global Health; The College of Nursing at Washington State University; The Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon; foundry10, Seattle; Radia, Seattle.