The National Sports Safety in Secondary Schools Benchmark (N4SB) Study: Defining Athletic Training Practice Characteristics

Abstract

Context: Increased rates of sport participation and sportrelated injury have led to greater emphasis on and attention to medical care of student-athletes in the secondary school setting. Access to athletic training services is seen as a critical factor for delivering adequate injury prevention and medical care to student-athletes. However, few data are available regarding practice characteristics of athletic trainers (ATs) in this setting.Objective: To characterize the practices of secondary school athletic trainers (ATs).Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Web-based survey. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 17 558 ATs with current National Athletic Trainers' Association membership were identified for survey distribution. Of these, 4232 ATs indicated that they practiced in the secondary school setting, and 4045 completed some part of the survey.Main Outcome Measure(s): A Web-based survey was used to obtain demographic information about ATs and their secondary schools and characteristics of athletic training practice. Descriptive data regarding the athletic trainer's personal characteristics, secondary school characteristics, and practice patterns are reported as percentages and frequencies.Results: Most respondents were in the early stages of their careers and relatively new to the secondary school practice setting. Nearly two-thirds (62.4%; n ¼ 2522) of respondents had 10 or fewer years of experience as secondary school ATs, 52% (n ¼ 2132) had been certified for 10 or fewer years, and 53.4% (n ¼ 2164) had 10 or fewer years of experience in any practice setting. The majority of respondents (85%) worked in public schools with enrollment of 1000 to 1999 (35.5%) and with football (95.5%). More than half of respondents were employed directly by their school. Most respondents (50.6%) reported an athletic training budget of less than $4000. The majority of ATs performed evaluations (87.5%) on-site all of the time, with a smaller percentage providing treatments (73.3%) or rehabilitation (47.4%) services all of the time.Conclusions: This is the first study to describe secondary school athletic training that reflects national practice trends. To improve the quality of athletic training care and to support and improve current working conditions, the profession must examine how its members practice on a day-to-day basis.

Practice-Based Research Networks, Part II: A Descriptive Analysis of the Athletic Training Practice-Based Research Network in the Secondary School Setting

“…A total of 79.4% of respondents indicated that their school had fewer than 399 female athletes, and 18.6% had more than 400 female athletes. 22 The secondary schools in the AT-PBRN are similar to those in the N4SB sample with respect to the public and private or parochial status and school enrollment but tended to have smaller numbers of both male and female athletes.…”

“…Their average age was lower than the mean age of the N4SB respondents (27.3 6 7.0 years versus 35.7 6 9.9 years, respectively), and only 21.7% held a master's degree, compared with 55% of the N4SB sample. 22 Most secondary school clinicians practicing in the AT-PBRN had less than 5 years of clinical experience (78.2%); only 30.7% of the N4SB sample reported practicing for less than 5 years. These findings are not surprising considering that the AT-PBRN partnered with postprofessional athletic training education programs to enroll secondary schools associated with these educational programs during the initial development of the AT-PBRN.…”

“…The most inclusive survey of secondary school athletic training practice is the National Sports Safety Secondary School Benchmark (N4SB) study 22 of 4232 athletic trainers commissioned by the National Athletic Trainers' Association. In that unpublished report, 80.9% of respondents worked in a public school and 13.2% in a private or parochial school, with 57.7% of schools having more than 1000 students enrolled and 42.3% having a student enrollment of less than 999.…”

Athletic Trainers' Familiarity With and Perceptions of Academic Accommodations in Secondary School Athletes After Sport-Related Concussion

“…With permission, we incorporated questions from the National Sports Safety in Secondary Schools Benchmark study. 19 Additionally, we compiled a combination of questions based on information from content experts. The survey, titled ''The Beliefs, Attitudes and Knowledge Following Pediatric Athlete Concussions among athletic trainers employed in the secondary school setting'' (BAKPAC-AT), consists of 3 sections: (1) concussion management and care, (2) concussion referral, and (3) AA.…”

Knowledge of Concussion and Reporting Behaviors in High School Athletes With or Without Access to an Athletic Trainer

“…The medical professional best suited to provide medical care to high school athletes is a certified athletic trainer (AT). 1 The AT is the ideal liaison among school administrators, coaches, physicians, and parents. 2 Although ATs are estimated to be present in 86% of all US high schools, only 36% of high school athletes have access to a full-time AT.…”