Self-reported comfort of collegiate athletes with injury and condition care by same-sex and opposite-sex athletic trainers

Abstract

Context: Athletes may experience similar comfort concerns as patients in other allied health care fields.

Objective: To address athlete comfort with injury and condition care provided by same-sex and opposite-sex athletic trainers.

Design: Cross-sectional survey design.

Setting: Three National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university athletic programs were invited and agreed to participate. Universities were selected by geographic location and affiliation with 3 National Athletic Trainers' Association districts.

Patients or other participants: A total of 685 athletes (341 women, 344 men) completed questionnaires (277 in the Mid-America District, 282 in the Far West District, and 126 in the Southeast District).

Main outcome measure(s): Questionnaires consisted of 17 injuries and conditions common to both female and male athletic trainer scenarios. Three sex-specific items were added to each scenario. Responses were scored on a 5-point scale anchored by 1 (very uncomfortable) and 5 (very comfortable). Participants were asked to indicate the reason for any degree of discomfort. Internal consistency, determined by Cronbach alpha, was .93 for the female athletic trainer scenario and .95 for the male athletic trainer scenario.

Results: We found significant injury and condition category-by-sex interactions for general medical conditions (F(1,683) = 578.9, P < .001), psychological conditions (F(1,683) = 136.2, P < .001), injuries to the upper body (F(1,683) = 175.7, P < .001), injuries to the mid-body (F(1,683) = 199.1, P < .001), and injuries to the lower body (F(1,683) = 4.9, P < .001). For gender-specific injuries and conditions, we found a difference between the mean ratings in both female athlete comfort (t(340) = -26.350, P < .001) and male athlete comfort (t(340) = -26.350, P < .001) when athletes were provided care by a female athletic trainer and a male athletic trainer. Overall, athletes appeared to be more comfortable when provided care by a same-sex athletic trainer. The most common reason reported for discomfort was gender related.

Conclusions: Both athletes and athletic trainers should be aware that athletes do experience discomfort, especially if the injury or condition is intimate in nature. It may be necessary to have athletic trainers of both sexes accessible to athletes to optimize the treatment received.