Athletic Directors' Barriers to Hiring Athletic Trainers in High Schools

Abstract

Context In its best-practices recommendation, the Inter-Association Task Force for Preventing Sudden Death in Secondary School Athletics Programs urged all high schools to have a certified athletic trainer (AT) on staff. Despite the recommendation, many high schools lack the medical services of an AT. Objective To examine the barriers that athletic directors (ADs) face in hiring ATs in public high schools and in providing medical coverage for their student-athletes. Design Qualitative study. Setting Semistructured telephone interviews. Patients or Other Participants Twenty full-time public high school ADs (17 men, 3 women) from various geographical regions of the United States (6 North, 4 South, 4 Midwest, 6 West) participated. Data saturation guided the total number of participants. Data Collection and Analysis We completed telephone interviews guided by a semistructured questionnaire with all participants. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Multiple-analyst triangulation and peer review were included as steps to establish data credibility. We analyzed the data using the principles of the general inductive approach. Results We identified 3 themes. Lack of power represented the inability of an AD to hire an AT, which was perceived to be a responsibility of the superintendent and school board. Budget concerns pertained to the funding allocated to specific resources within a school, which often did not include an AT. Nonbudget concerns represented rural locations without clinics or hospitals nearby; misconceptions about the role of an AT, which led to the belief that first-aid–trained coaches are appropriate medical providers; and community support from local clinics, hospitals, and volunteers. Conclusions Many ADs would prefer to employ ATs in their schools; however, they perceive that they are bound by the hiring and budgeting decisions of superintendents and school boards. Public school systems are experiencing the consequences of national budget cuts and often do not have the freedom to hire ATs when other school staff are being laid off.

The impact of high school athletic trainer services on medical payments and utilizations: a microsimulation analysis on medical claims

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Medical Supervision of High School Athletics in Chicago: A Follow-up Study

“…This stems in part from a persistent belief that a coach can provide medical care in the place of ATs. 19 Studies have shown a low level of knowledge by coaches concerning health-related issues such as management and recognition of concussions, first aid, and hydration strategies. 12,13,20,29 Coaches do not receive the appropriate training or education to handle such emergency situations.…”

Practices of Athletic Trainers Using Weight Charts to Determine Hydration Status and Fluid-Intervention Strategies

“…reviewed research and consensus statements before and after this meeting by to ensure that all elements involved in the use of body mass changes for assessing hydration status were included in the survey. 1,3,5,11,[17][18][19][20][21][22] Questions were developed that asked the AT to report his or her current practice for each implementation element. The panel members added and revised the survey until they agreed that the survey contained all of the implementation elements.…”