What is HITSS-ND?
Researchers at Boston University and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have teamed up to create the Head Impact & Trauma Surveillance Study (HITSS) to answer questions about risks of developing later life brain health issues from repetitive head impacts in contact sports. HITSS is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on Aging.
HITSS-ND is an extension of the larger HITSS project, specifically studying former Notre Dame football players. It now serves as Phases 2 and 3 of The Independent Notre Dame Footballers Medical Research Project. Participation in HITSS-ND is identical to participation in HITSS, which is described below.
HITSS is a fully online annual assessment, including: questions about sports participation, repetitive head impact exposure and concussion history, and medical history; computerized brain games; and behavior and mood questionnaires.
HITSS is an extension of the existing Brain Health Registry at UCSF, an online registry of almost 70,000 participants used for the study of people interested in participating in brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and AD related dementias research.
The entire HITSS assessment takes approximately 2 hours, in the comfort and privacy of the participant’s home, and can be completed at any time and over several days if desired.