Physician care for interscholastic athletes in Michigan

Abstract

Between January 1989 and March 1989 the athletic directors of the 711 high schools in the Michigan High School Athletic Association were surveyed as to what sports and levels of competition each school offered and what level of medical care was available. Fifty-seven percent of the surveyed schools returned properly completed forms. Sixty-one percent of the schools responding reported having a physician available for at least one team at some time during the year. This was almost universally the football team; with 59% of the schools with varsity football reporting a physician present at either a practice or a contest at least once during the year. Only 13% of the schools reported having a physician available for a team other than varsity football. Seventy-four percent of all varsity teams had neither a physician nor an athletic trainer present at any time during the year. Comparison of the results of this study with similar studies performed in Michigan in 1975 and 1979, as well as studies in other states, demonstrates that despite the increased awareness and popularity of sports medicine, there has been no appreciable change in the amount of access interscholastic athletes have to physician care.