Moorestown Friends Student Presents Concussion Research to National Conference

A Moorestown Friends School senior is hoping her efforts can help students cope better with the aftermath of suffering a concussion after she presented her findings to a national conference earlier this month.

Bria McKenzie gave a presentation based on her senior paper at the American Occupational Health Conference in Baltimore on May 3.

“I think that adding a student’s perspective on the issue is helpful,” McKenzie said.

She conducted research on how students suffering from concussions handle their school responsibilities. Her findings were documented in her Senior Capstone Project “Symptoms and Effects of Concussions in the Student Population.”

“Last year, I developed a concussion questionnaire for students from MFS and neighboring schools to fill out,” McKenzie said. “After developing and pilot testing the questionnaire, I gathered results throughout the summer. About half of the students attended public school and half private school. From there, I analyzed the data and found some trends – accommodations kids used and how they sustained their concussions.” She said students suffered concussions mainly through their participation in sports. She said most of them lasted more than six months.

She gathered enough information by December to put together a poster to be submitted for the conference.

She hopes her research will people better understand concussions and how they affect teenagers.

The attached image of Bria McKenzie was provided by Moorestown Friends School