A survey of athletic medicine outreach programs in wisconsin

In 1985, Sherman (21) reported a lack of organized and supervised health care for athletes in southern Wisconsin high schools and proposed that outreach athletic trainer services could help fill this gap. In order to determine the extent to which outreach programs are providing athletic training services, in January 1990, I surveyed 30 athletic medicine outreach services in Wisconsin to observe the frequency and scope of care being provided. Twenty-six surveys were returned. Results indicated that: (1) nearly half the high schools in Wisconsin subscribe to an outreach service; (2) outreach visits vary per individual school/service agreements, but average 2.5 visits per week, 2 hours per visit; (3) generally, outreach services furnish medical coverage to community athletic events as well as provide a source of continuing education programs for local coaches and administrators; (4) fees for services vary per contract, with nearly one-third of the respondents operating on a "no fee" volunteer basis; (5) nearly two-thirds of the outreach services emanate from a physical therapy department; and (6) 88% of services employ certified athletic trainers to provide outreach care. Outreach services appear as the mode of choice for providing athletic medicine in Wisconsin. Although some care is better than none, the quality and comprehensiveness of this care requires further investigation.