Scott Ramsay

Youth Concussion Awareness Network (You-CAN) Surveillance in High School and Community Sport to Reduce Concussions and their Consequences (SHRed Concussions)

In Canada, one in nine youth between the ages of 14 and 19 will get a sport-related concussion each year. Most of the research has been focused on boys and urban settings. A significant gap exists in concussion prevention and management across equity-deserving youth sport communities. These include youth who are Indigenous, living with disabilities, girls, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and living in rural areas.
The purpose of the You-CAN SHRed Concussions research program is to help youth in Canada build knowledge and skills to create prevention, management, and peer-led education strategies that meet the needs of their community.
The goals of the program are to:
- Work directly with youth and community partners to create and evaluate concussion prevention strategies and peer-led education that are specific to each equity-deserving community (i.e., Indigenous, parasport, girls, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or rural youth).
- Identify youth who are interested in becoming local “ambassadors” for concussion prevention, education, and management strategies within equity-deserving youth communities.

Enhancing Equity in Neurological Care for Children and Youth in BC

Neurological conditions are a major concern for children and youth. These conditions disrupt normal functions regulated by the nervous system due to injury, genetics and exposures. Pediatric neurological conditions impact well-being, affect mental health and impair development. Despite the reported prevalence of neurological conditions in Canada, disparities exist among children. Currently, there are no estimates of pediatric neurological conditions in BC and there is a lack of understanding of how this population accesses health care. To understand these gaps we will first explore the rates of neurological conditions in the BC pediatric population. Second, identify the barriers to accessing neurological care by (1) neurological condition, (2) access to a primary care provider, (3) timing of care, and (4) the social determinants of health. These objectives will inform the final theme, which seeks to investigate the implementation of nurse-led initiatives (i.e., assessment, education, intervention) for children waiting to access neurological care. This work will be equity-oriented, with a focus on underserved groups and include key stakeholders across BC, seeking to inform practice and create system level interventions.

Grants

Health Professional Investigator Award, Enhancing equity for children with neurological conditions in British Columbia, Michael Smith Health Research BC, 2024–2029 ($450,000)

Insight Development Grant; Unseen, unpaid, unending an institutional ethnography of family labour in pediatric acquired brain injury; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; 2026 ($78,000)

IMPaCT Training Award, Telehealth examination for pediatric concussion follow-up: A pilot randomized controlled trial, Michael Smith Health Research BC, 2026 ($70,000)

Evidence to Innovation Seed Grant, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, 2026, ($10,000) — 1 of 2

Evidence to Innovation Seed Grant, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, 2026, ($10,000) — 2 of 2

Healthy Youth Team Grant; Youth Concussion Awareness Network (You-CAN) Surveillance in High School and Community Sport to Reduce Concussions and their Consequences (SHRed Concussions): Canadian youth informing best practice and policy in the prevention of sport-related concussion; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; 2025 ($1,500,000)

Indigenous Strategic Initiative Fund, Statistics and Data Science for Indigenous Youth, University of British Columbia, 2025 ($25,000)

Providence Health Care Lived Experience Advisory Council — Mental Health Program, Describing anoxic brain injury among people with mental health and substance use disorders: A retrospective chart review, St. Paul's Foundation, 2025 ($17,700)

Convening and Collaborating Grant; Modernizing brain injury services in British Columbia: Developing research priorities for children, youth, and young adults; Michael Smith Health Research BC; 2024 ($20,000)

Honours & Awards

UBC Outstanding Dissertation Award for PhD Student, School of Nursing (2023)

UBC Aboriginal Graduate Fellowship (2018-2022)

CIHR CGS-M (2018-2019)