Parent-stated advantages and disadvantages to implementing the concussion guidelines in community Australian Football
| Subthemes | Example quotes |
| Advantages | |
| Provides a starting point for diagnosing and managing concussion | ‘Well … well, if in doubt, you’d … follow the guidelines’. |
| A resource to show parents when they question the decision to remove a child from play following a concussion. | ‘That’s … why I love this … document. Because I can go back to that and say “Righto, sit down and read this and then come back and tell me that your twelve year old should be right out there right now”’. |
| Disadvantages | |
| Differences in the interpretation of the guidelines | ‘That’s right. The interpretation of it. Because some people interpret … interpret things differently than others and basically look at that and say, “Well, hang on. They don’t say that in the guidelines compared to what you’re saying. Or what the doctor said”. So, there’s that circle of … that goes around that you get one, two, three, maybe four different stories’. |
| Difficulty diagnosing concussion in children, particularly in relation to cases that are not clear cut (ie, player does not lose consciousness) or when the symptoms are not obvious | ‘When it’s black and white and there is a concussion, it’s easy. But when it’s borderline, there is no concussion and there may be headaches or slight dizziness. That’s the grey areas that are hard to address’. |
| Do not allow for individual differences in the way people respond to concussion, particularly in relation to the potential for a delay in the onset of symptoms | ‘Well, they’re only guidelines and … apart from concussion, every injury is different Every person is different. So, how can you make a policy that relates to everyone and the injury? It’s all different’. |