Project 458465

Pediatric concussion is a common injury in Canada. Almost 30% of youth experience persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) lasting four weeks post injury. Prolonged youth recovery is found to affect caregivers' health and family functioning. Despite the critical role that caregivers play in concussion recovery, there are no interventions tailored to the specific needs of caregivers of youth with PPCS. This research introduces the novel program, Move&Connect-Caregivers (M&C-C), an online group-based intervention that provides skills training, mental health support and psychoeducation to caregivers. The study will examine the effectiveness of M&C-C to address caregivers' health needs. Study methods include collecting measures to examine changes related to mental health and family functioning, and to conduct interviews to explore caregivers' experiences with the intervention. Another aspect of this study is to develop a best-practice toolkit to aid clinicians in the delivery of M&C-C. It is well-known that health of youth and caregivers are dynamically interconnected. Hence, this study will shed light on supportive strategies that will improve the well-being of families dealing with concussion.