Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2017

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) establish and oversee a national system to accurately determine the incidence of sports-related concussions among youth, and (2) begin implementation of such system within one year of this bill's enactment.

The data collected shall include:

• the incidence of sports related concussions in individuals 5 through 21 years of age;
• demographic information of the injured individuals;
• pre-existing conditions of the injured individuals;
• the concussion history of the injured individuals;
• the use of protective equipment and impact monitoring devices;
• the qualifications of personnel diagnosing the concussions; and
• the cause, nature, and extent of the concussive injury.

The National Institutes of Health must conduct or support:

• research designed to inform the creation of guidelines for the management of short- and long-term sequelae of concussion in youth;
• research on the effects of concussions and repetitive head impacts on quality of life and the activities of daily living;
• research to identify predictors, and modifiers of outcomes, of concussions in youth; and
• research on age- and sex-related biomechanical determinants of injury risk for concussion in youth.

The CDC shall develop and disseminate to the public information regarding concussions.

The bill establishes a Concussion Research Commission, which shall study the programs and activities conducted pursuant to this bill and formulate systemic recommendations to increase knowledge about, and change the culture surrounding, concussions.