Context: Athletic trainers (ATs) are the most visible members of the sports medicine team and are responsible for the health and well-being of student-athletes (SAs). Objective: Quantifying the representation from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) ATs in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions has not been previously studied. Design: Retrospective study Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Demographic Database Participants: NCAA teams' athletic personnel at NCAA member institutions. Main Measures: Chi-square tests were employed to assess differences in racial and ethnic frequencies across division, calendar year and gender. Linear regressions models were used to examine change in racial and ethnic distributions of head and assistant ATs over time. Results: The majority of NCAA athletic trainers were categorized as white (88%), which was reflected in both head (90.8%) and assistant (87.2%) AT positions. Black ATs made up the largest proportion of a specific racial/ethnicity group within BIPOC ATs (3.4% of head ATs, 4.6% of assistant ATs), with the next most prevalent being Hispanic (2.8% of head ATs, 3.9% of assistant ATs). Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) showed higher proportions of BIPOC ATs in both head and assistant categories compared to non-HBCU institutions. Division I schools had the greatest AT racial/ethnicity diversity in comparison to Division II and Division III (p<0.0001). In our linear regression models, we found statistically significant increases in many of the racial/ethnic categories for both head and assistant ATs. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that BIPOC ATs represent a small proportion of the ATs currently working at NCAA member institutions. Although there has been an increase in BIPOC athletic trainers over the past ten years, a large racial and ethnic discordance gap still exists between student athletes and the ATs caring for them. Future studies may identify barriers encountered by BIPOC ATs and the effectiveness of current diversity initiatives.

Spirituality as a concept has only recently begun to be considered in speech and language therapy research and practice, and phenomenology as a research methodology is also not widely used in SLT research. Yet, concepts propounded by the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty arguably offer a useful theoretical framework from which to view certain aspects of SLT including the concept of spirituality and how this is expressed by people with a communication difficulty. In this project, eight people with aphasia were interviewed about their spirituality. The interviews were transcribed, themes identified and stories created. These stories were viewed using one of the concepts propounded by Merleau-Ponty, namely ambiguity.

Speech and language therapists (SLT), occupational therapists (OT) and physiotherapists (PT) on stroke rehabilitation wards have long worked in an holistic way, with the client at the centre of their interventions. However, if we consider our clients to be tripartite beings, comprising body, mind and spirit, do we, in fact, give credence to the spiritual dimension? Are there particular considerations in this regard when we consider those patients who present with communication difficulties following a stroke? Are we able to facilitate expressions of spiritual distress/need in our clients with aphasia who have difficulty verbalising their thoughts and, if so, is it our role to do so? As part of a larger study exploring stories of spirituality with people with aphasia, I interviewed members of the multidisciplinary team on an acute stroke ward. I wanted to explore their understanding of their professional role vis-à-vis spirituality. This article focusses on some of the themes which emerged in the interviews with the therapists on the stroke ward: an OT, SLT and PT. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, I encouraged them to talk about their interventions with people with aphasia, their definition of spirituality, and whether they considered facilitation of expressions of spirituality in their clients with aphasia part of their therapeutic remit. Although, of course, this represents a very small sample of therapists, nevertheless some interesting themes have begun to emerge, which I hope will contribute to further dialogue.

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