Department of Athletic Training, University of Lynchburg, VA.
Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
J Athl Train. 2020 Mar;55(3):312-318. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-85-19. Epub 2020 Jan 27.
Conflict between athletic trainers (ATs) and other stakeholders can occur because of competing interests over medical decisions regarding concussion. However, we are unaware of any studies specifically exploring these situations across various collegiate athletic affiliations.
To investigate the challenges faced by ATs when treating concussed student-athletes.
Qualitative study.
Online questionnaire.
A total of 434 ATs (267 women, 166 men, 1 missing data; age = 27.73 ± 3.24 years, experience = 5.17 ± 2.67 years) completed the questionnaire (response rate = 14.47%). Our participants represented multiple employment settings within intercollegiate athletics.
We sent an online questionnaire to 3000 ATs working in the collegiate and university setting across the United States. A survey expert verified face, content, and construct validity of the questionnaire in 2 rounds of review, and 3 ATs completed a content-validity tool before we finalized the survey. We analyzed the qualitative data using a general inductive approach and ensured trustworthiness through multiple-analyst triangulation and peer review.
When we examined the responses from our participants regarding their work with student-athletes who had sustained concussions, we found 2 major themes, each with subthemes. First, educational efforts appeared to be only modestly effective because of a lack of honesty, noncompliant actions, and coach interference. Second, return to learn was challenging because of a lack of communication among stakeholders, athletes being anxious about needing accommodations, and difficulty convincing faculty to provide reasonable accommodations.
Based on our findings, we recommend continued efforts to improve the culture surrounding concussion in collegiate athletes. Athletic trainers should include key stakeholders such as coaches, student-athletes, parents, faculty, and other educational administrators in their educational efforts to improve the policies and culture surrounding concussion treatment.
由于在涉及脑震荡的医疗决策上存在利益冲突，运动训练师（ATs）与其他利益相关者之间可能会产生冲突。然而，我们并不了解任何专门针对不同大学体育联盟中这些情况的研究。
调查 ATs 在治疗脑震荡学生运动员时面临的挑战。
定性研究。
在线问卷。
共有 434 名 ATs（267 名女性，166 名男性，1 名数据缺失；年龄=27.73±3.24 岁，经验=5.17±2.67 年）完成了问卷（响应率=14.47%）。我们的参与者代表了大学间体育界的多种就业环境。
我们向美国大学和学院中从事运动训练的 3000 名 ATs 发送了在线问卷。在两轮审查中，一位调查专家验证了问卷的表面、内容和结构有效性，在最终确定调查之前，有 3 名 AT 完成了内容有效性工具。我们使用一般归纳方法对定性数据进行分析，并通过多分析师三角剖分和同行评审来确保可信度。
当我们检查参与者关于他们治疗脑震荡学生运动员的工作时，我们发现了 2 个主要主题，每个主题都有子主题。首先，由于缺乏诚实、不遵守规定的行为和教练的干扰，教育工作的效果似乎只是适度的。其次，由于利益相关者之间沟通不畅、运动员对需要适应感到焦虑以及难以说服教师提供合理的适应，返回学习变得具有挑战性。
根据我们的发现，我们建议继续努力改善大学生运动员脑震荡文化。运动训练师应将教练、学生运动员、家长、教师和其他教育行政人员等关键利益相关者纳入他们的教育工作中，以改善围绕脑震荡治疗的政策和文化。
