• Royce Fellowship
Emma McMillan
Emma
McMillan

Concentration 

Public Health, MPH Candidate in Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Award Year 

2020
Assessing and Revising Concussion Education for Athletes and Coaches

Emma is a senior at Brown in the AB/MPH dual degree program, concentrating in Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is passionate about studying the intersections of biology, ethics, education, law, and human health. She is a former track athlete and BOLT manager. Currently, she is also pursuing research in head impact technology in water polo players and is a research assistant in the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. In her free time, she enjoys biking, reading, and learning to play the guitar. Concussions are complex and difficult to diagnose, and statistics about concussions are gross underestimations. The CDC and WHO suggest that the actual number of concussions may be as much as ten times higher than reported. In sports with comparable rules played by both genders (e.g. soccer, water polo), females have twice the rate of concussion as males. Education programs in collegiate athletics could have a lot of influence on an athlete’s ability to determine if they’ve had a concussion, and if so, encourage them to seek help. Estimates suggest that for the 1,098 colleges and universities in the NCAA, over half of sports concussions are going undiagnosed and untreated. Emma’s project consists of focus groups with head and assistant coaches, and separately with athletes on varsity sports teams including ice hockey, soccer, water-polo, football, track & field, lacrosse, and rugby. The project will also include a survey of coaches and student-athletes about their experience with concussion reporting and education. Based on mixed-method results, Emma will develop a traumatic brain injury education program that is tailored to the needs of the Brown athletics community, and she will share findings with key stakeholders and work towards implementation.