Parents vs. Football: Treato Finds 41 Percent of Parents Want Football Eliminated From Schools

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents are becoming increasingly concerned about the risk of sports-related concussions, according to a data analysis released today by leading healthcare insights company Treato.  A survey of more than 500 Treato.com users revealed that 91 percent of survey participants who identified parents are aware of the link between playing sports and lifelong brain injuries.  As a result 51 percent of those parents surveyed would like at least some sports programs eliminated from schools.  Football topped the list of school sports parents would like to eliminate, as 41 percent parents said it should no longer be played in schools.  Hockey took the number two spot with 21 percent of parents saying it should be eliminated from schools.  When asked if they would let their own child play a high-impact sport, 41 of parents surveyed said they would not.

A more in-depth analysis by Treato of more than 126,000 online conversations found that parents' attitudes are reflective of the increase in sports-related concussion conversations happening online.  Over the past ten years, there has been a 230 percent increase in online patient conversations about concussions and sports, as well as a 79 percent increase in the share of sports-related conversations out of all concussion conversations.  Discussions about children are dominating online conversations as 64 percent of online conversations about concussions are about patients under the age of 18.  In addition, 25 percent of online conversations happening about concussions and the emergency room also mention children. 

Given all the recent media attention about the National Football League (NFL) and concussions, Treato also surveyed its users on their opinions about professional football.  The survey revealed that 69 percent of survey participants felt that the NFL isn't doing enough to protect its players from the long-term effects of concussions.  In addition, 60 percent of survey participants felt NFL players should be compensated for concussions that they endured while playing for the league.  Fans are also active in online conversations discussing the effects of the game, as frequently topics being discussed in relation to concussions and the NFL are Alzheimer's and suicide.

"Through our data analysis, it became clear that consumer attitudes, particularly among parents, towards youth sports are rapidly changing," says Ido Hadari, CEO of Treato.  "As more medical research becomes available about the lifelong effects of traumatic head injuries, parents are thinking twice about which school sports teams to sign their kids up for, and as the online conversation gains momentum, changes in school sports programs in the coming future may be imminent."

Find out more information here on Treato's concussions data analysis.

About Treato:

Treato™, the leading source of real health insights from millions of real health consumers, uses patented analytics and big data technology to turn billions of disparate online conversations into meaningful social intelligence.  With two billion posts analyzed and continuously expanding, Treato has partnered with 9 out of the world's top 10 pharma companies as well as numerous other multi-national pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations.   Treato.com, its consumer website, helps millions of visitors each month.

Treato is privately held with offices in Israel, New York and Princeton, NJ. Investors include Reed Elsevier Ventures, OrbiMed Partners and New Leaf Venture Partners, among others. For more information please visit http://treato.com 

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SOURCE Treato