Cultural Competence in Sports Medicine is a must-have resource for any health care professional who works with athletes and patients of diverse cultural backgrounds. This unique text stresses the importance of recognizing different cultural attitudes, beliefs, and expectations so that athletic trainers and other health care professionals can modify their professional behavior accordingly to reflect their sensitivity to their patients’ needs, ultimately resulting in a comfortable and positive health care experience for patients. The need to provide behaviorally competent health care to diverse populations prompted the National Athletic Trainers’ Association to identify cultural awareness as a key competency for all certified athletic trainers, including entry-level athletic trainers. Cultural Competence in Sports Medicine supports this objective by defining the concept, explaining why it is important, and using examples specific to athletic trainers and other health professionals working with athletes. The text covers the various cultural competence theories and models, including the process of cultural competence in the delivery of health care services, which serves as a foundational model for the remainder of the text. Because readers will need to understand their own biases before they can begin to change them, the text offers information on analyzing and assessing one's own cultural attitudes and behaviors. Once readers are prepared with that cultural awareness, the text builds cultural knowledge about various racial and ethnic groups, including the origin of culture, common sensitivities and conditions, possible beliefs about illness and preventive healing practices, and providing symptom management and treatments. Cultural Competence in Sports Medicine also presents strategies for engaging in cross-cultural interactions. Readers will learn these factors: • Cultural considerations for each stage in the physical assessment process, including taking an oral history, inspecting, observing, and palpating • How to work through an interpreter to foster clear communication with athletes • The conventional dress code generally expected by different cultures to cultivate a professional atmosphere • Appropriate palpation techniques across cultures so athletes are comfortable with the type and degree of physical contact • The differences in acceptable interaction between male and female clients Activities throughout the text provide opportunities for students to apply their developing cultural awareness and related skills. Role-playing exercises help readers realize and understand their own cultural viewpoints, while thought-provoking “What Would You Do?” sections detail a cultural encounter and encourage the reader to reflect on the situation either individually or through in-class discussion. Each chapter also includes chapter objectives, interviews with professionals, review questions, and key terms to help students comprehend and retain the information presented. Instructors will find an online instructor guide and test package to help them plan and deliver their courses. Cultural Competence in Sports Medicine explores methods of assessing the overall cultural competence of a health care organization. Whether part of an institutional mission or a personal objective to become more behaviorally competent when working with athletes or patients of diverse cultures, this text will serve as a guide. Readers will begin to understand their own cultural viewpoints and those of others while learning the tools to apply their new cultural awareness in offering more culturally sensitive and supportive health care to their athletes and patients.

Context It has become increasingly important that athletic trainers (ATs) understand and promote diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency. One technique athletic training educators can use to promote cultural competency for those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community is by attending a safe space ally training (SST) program to integrate the concepts of SST programing into their curriculum. Objective To provide athletic training educators with techniques to integrate inclusion and cultural competence regarding the LGBTQIA+ community into the athletic training curriculum using SST content. Our goal is that athletic training educators will train future ATs as well as embrace individual professional development. Background The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee (AC) has created an SST workshop for athletic trainers. Educators can promote cultural competency throughout the curriculum using evidence-based training programs such as the NATA LGBTQ+ AC SST. Description The emphasis of SST is to improve cultural competence regarding sexual minorities to improve inclusivity in all athletic training settings. It is critical that athletic training education programs prepare graduates to be competent, compassionate, patient-centered and professional ATs who are ready to function as health care professionals for all patients. Clinical Advantage(s) A goal of cultural competency is to create an inclusive environment within all athletic training settings, whether it be in a classroom, a clinic, or a nontraditional work setting. Health disparities and health care inequities must be appreciated by every AT to deliver compassionate and competent care for all in marginalized populations. Educators can make a difference in the future of athletic training by increasing the cultural competency of their students. Conclusion(s) Patient-centered care, knowledge of the care of those in diverse and minority populations, and ethical behavior can be enhanced through SST programs.

An area that has not been closely considered in the sporting world is the mental health effects on the competitive athletes who identify as Lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer/questioning (LBGTQ+) and thus, experience discrimination because of their sexual identity. Considerations include concepts an athletic trainer should keep in mind when caring for patients/athletes who identify as LBGTQ+. This article reviews the mental health impact of sexual minority identity stress on LBGTQ+ individuals, steps to address discrimination for those in athletics who identify as LBGTQ+, legal ramifications in the workplace for the LBGTQ+ individual, and the tragic consequences when LBGTQ+ individuals lack coping skills for stress and pursue suicide as a way to cope. Strategies are provided to improve the outcomes, prevent suicide, and create an environment of inclusivity.