Collegiate Student-Athletes' Satisfaction With Athletic Trainers

Context: In today's sport settings, the athletic trainer is often the first member or the health care team with whom the athlete interacts. Delivery of patient care can be improved by increasing patient/athlete satisfaction.Objective: To evaluate the satisfaction collegiate student-athletes had with their athletic trainer(s) and the athletic training services provided at their institutions.Design: A survey format was solicited to 40 randomly selected National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and II athletic training programs in 4 regions across the United States.Setting: Collegiate athletic training environment.Patients or Other Participants: A total of 325 student-athletes from 20 of the programs solicited agreed to participate.Main Outcome Measure(s): The questionnaire was a variation on a previously used instrument developed for assessing athletes' perceptions of care. Validity and reliability analyses supported use of the instrument. A linear regression model was calculated to determine predictors of satisfaction score.Results: Significant differences in satisfaction scores were observed between athletes in high- and low-profile sports and between male and female athletes. When sex and sport profile were combined, differences in scores were noted between female athletes in high-profile sports and males in low-profile sports. Both sex and sport profile were predictors of satisfaction among the student-athletes who participated in the study.Conclusions: Female athletes and athletes in high-profile sports demonstrated greater satisfaction with their athletic trainer(s). Competitive level did not have a significant influence on satisfaction.