NJFL, UW, Children's Hospital Safety Study

The Northwest Junior Football League (NJFL), our parent league,  Seattle Children’s, and the University of Washington (UW) have been partners in a research study since 2016.

The overall goal of the study and partnership is to protect youth from injury. Specifically, Dr. Stan Herring, Dr. Sam Browd, and Dr. Fred Rivara are conducting research to better understand the effect of concussions in youth and how we might best prevent and manage these injuries in youth athletes. (Click here to view a short video about the study.)

The research team is asking all NJFL players to enroll at the beginning of the football season. They then follow them for six months. This allows them (and us) to better understand the effects of injuries by comparing how our youth are doing at the beginning of the season to how they are doing after a concussion occurs, if one happens.

A key benefit of this partnership is the provision for athletic trainers at all league games.

Study Participation

If you decide to join the study, you and your child would complete a baseline survey (either online or in-person at a league or team event) prior to the season starting.

If your child has a concussion during the season, the research team would contact you and ask you to answer some additional questions about your child’s recovery, first by phone after the injury and then by online survey. All surveys can be completed on your smartphone. You can contact the study team at any time during the season if your child has a concussion (on or off the field). If you give us permission, we could share your study information with your doctor which might improve your care if you are concussed. As a thank you for completing these injury follow-up surveys you will receive up to $60.  If your child does not have a concussion, you would not be asked to answer any additional surveys.

Families that complete the baseline survey before recruitment ends in August will receive a customized NJFL wristband. Additionally, they are entered into a lottery to win one of thirteen Seattle Seahawks posters signed by Russell Wilson.

Note: Franchises are assessed a fee (using a sliding scale) based on their participation rate so, the more Wildcat families that participate, the less the franchise has to pay. Families must enroll every year.

Study Participation Notes

We send invitations to participate in the study throughout the recruitment period. If you decide to participate, you do not need to fill out the baseline survey more than once per child. You can follow the same link to fill out the survey if you have more than one child in the NJFL.

If you are taking the online concussion safety study, but want to save and finish later, please click on the "Save & Return Later" link. If you miss this step, then wait until the next afternoon and you'll get automatic message from the survey. If you fail to click "Save & Return Later" link or wait until you get the automatic email, you'll be forced to start over.

If you have any questions about the study, you can call Seattle Children’s at (206) 295-8019 or email them at NJFLStudy@seattlechildrens.org.

Closing

We encourage everyone to participate in this project. It’s one way we are all working together to make the NJFL on the safest leagues in the nation.