Affiliation:
1. Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, A.T. Still University, Mesa, AZ
2. Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs
Abstract
Context
Secondary school administrators fulfill many leadership roles, including creating and implementing policies to help ensure the safety of athletic programs. However, few researchers have examined principals' awareness and perceptions of the athletic trainer's (AT's) role.
Objective
To explore secondary school principals' knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of ATs and perceptions of athletic training.
Design
Concurrent mixed-methods study.
Setting
Cross-sectional online questionnaire.
Patients or Other Participants
Principals (n = 686; age = 48.1 ± 7.8 years, time in position = 7.1 ± 5.8 years) represented public secondary schools across the United States.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
The web-based questionnaire was composed of demographics, various quantitative items assessing knowledge and perceived value of ATs, and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic data. Select quantitative measures are reported as count responses and overall percentages. Responses to open-ended questions were analyzed inductively.
Results
We obtained a 5% response rate (686 of 13 517). Approximately 93% (n = 637) of responding principals considered an AT to be a trusted source of medical information. The most frequently selected skills they believed ATs were qualified to perform were injury prevention (99.1%), first aid/wound care (96.5%), and therapeutic intervention (91.4%). Sixty-three percent (n = 430) of participants considered an AT to be extremely valuable to student-athlete health and safety. Our results indicated that secondary school principals had a vague understanding of AT “training” and appreciated the immediacy of care ATs could provide. They also appeared to use decentralized hiring practices.
Conclusions
Secondary school principals identified ATs as a trusted source of medical information and recognized the role ATs played in the immediate care of athletic-related injuries. However, principals had a limited understanding of the qualifications and educational requirements of ATs. Future professional advocacy efforts targeting this stakeholder group should highlight all medical services an AT provides and emphasize the AT's value in schools that sponsor athletics programs.
Publisher
Journal of Athletic Training/NATA
Subject
Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation,Orthopedics and Sports Medicine,General Medicine
Cited by
5 articles.
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