Context: The core competencies of health care indicate that all medical professionals should provide patient-centered care (PCC), or care that is respectful and responsive to one's values and preferences, during each encounter. Objective: To identify collegiate student-athletes' definition of PCC and measure their perceived level of PCC from an athletic trainer (AT). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Mixed-method survey. Patients or Participants: A total of 610 (age = 19 ± 1 year) NCAA student-athletes completed the survey. Main Outcome Measure(s): The survey consisted of one open-ended question prompting the participant to define PCC in their own words. The quantitative data was gathered through the Global Perceptions of Athletic Trainer PCC tool which explored the overall agreement about the ATs use of PCC constructs. Finally, those participants who had received care from an AT completed the validated Patient Perception of Patient-Centeredness (PPPC) instrument. Qualitative analysis was completed through Text IQ™ technology from Qualtrics® with a mean sentiment score (MSS) attributed to each of the coded statements. We performed descriptive statistics for all quantitative data. Results: The qualitative analysis revealed 13 topics in which the most used were individualized, priority, and best. Other topics were inconsistent with how the medical community has defined PCC. On the global agreement scale of PCC tool, the participants expressed a strong agreement (mode = 4) with 12 of the 15 statements. On the patient perception instrument, participants expressed that the AT was completely (mode = 4) patient-centered for all dimensions during their most recent encounter. However, the behaviors of PCC, defined by the medical community, may not be directly expressed from the viewpoint of a collegiate student-athlete. Conclusions: Student-athletes defined PCC as individualized and prioritized health care. Additionally, student-athletes perceived that ATs provided care that kept their best interest in mind and practiced PCC during their encounters.

The core competency of patient-centered care (PCC) states that for positive patient outcomes, the provider must respect the patient’s views and recognize their experiences. The Athletic Training Strategic Alliance Research Agenda Task Force identified a profession-wide belief that examining the extent to which athletic trainers (ATs) provide PCC in their clinical practice would benefit the profession. To first address this line of inquiry, we must study the subjectivity of how ATs view PCC. This study used Q methodology which is a research design that collects data from participants from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. A total of 115 (males = 62, females = 53, age = 37±10 y, experience = 13±10 y) ATs dispersed between 11 job settings volunteered for this study. Participants were asked to pre-sort (agree, disagree, neutral) 36 validated statements representing the 8 dimensions of PCC, then completed a Q-sort where they dragged-and-dropped the pre-sorted statements based on perceived importance in providing PCC. The Q-sorts were analyzed using QMethod software. A principal component analysis was used to identify statement rankings and factors. Factors were determined by an Eigenvalue > 1 and analyzed using a scree plot. The 6 highest selected statements per factor were assessed to create the distinguishing viewpoints. Two distinguishing viewpoints emerged from the factor analysis of the Q-sorts: 1) the interpersonal connection that valued teamwork, open communication, and respectful care with varied populations; 2) the holistic gatekeeper that valued personal promotion for activities of daily living, self-care, and quality of life. Overall, ATs value patient’s preferences and respect. However, a lack of importance was identified for incorporating the disablement model which is a core competency and adopted framework by the athletic training profession.

Background The core competency of patient-centered care (PCC) states that for positive patient outcomes, the provider must respect the patient’s views and recognize their experiences. The Athletic Training Strategic Alliance Research Agenda Task Force identified a profession-wide belief that examining the extent to which athletic trainers (ATs) provide PCC in their clinical practice would benefit the profession. To first address this line of inquiry, we must study the subjectivity of how ATs view PCC. Methods We used Q methodology to allow participants to share their viewpoints while simultaneously exploring the study aim from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. A total of 115 (males = 62, females = 53, age = 37 ± 10 y, experience = 13 ± 10 y) ATs dispersed between 11 job settings volunteered for this study. Participants were asked to pre-sort (agree, disagree, neutral) 36 validated statements representing the 8 dimensions of PCC. The participants completed a Q-sort where they dragged-and-dropped the pre-sorted statements based on perceived importance in providing PCC. The Q-sorts were analyzed using QMethod software. A principal component analysis was used to identify statement rankings and factors. Factors were determined by an Eigenvalue > 1 and analyzed using a scree plot. The 6 highest selected statements per factor were assessed to create the distinguishing viewpoints. Results Two distinguishing viewpoints emerged from the Q-sorts. The statement “ATs treat patients with dignity and respect” appeared as a high ranked statement in both distinguishing viewpoints. The lowest ranked statement from viewpoint 1 was “ATs integrate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) model as a framework for delivery of patient care.” The lowest ranked statement from viewpoint 2 was “Appointment scheduling is easy.” Conclusions ATs value patient’s preferences. However, a lack of importance was identified for incorporating the ICF model, which is a core competency and adopted framework by the NATA since 2015.