Survey of health care available to child athletes

Surveys were sent to 84 children's hospitals and 397 sportsmedicine clinics to characterize the care available for the child athlete (aged 4 to 12 years); they were completed by 209 facilities (43% response rate). Fourteen of the facilities had a sportsmedicine clinic specifically for children; care was available for the child athlete in an additional 46 facilities, but less than 10% of the clinic visits were made by athletes aged 4 to 12 years. All responding clinics were further characterized by location, length of operation, composition, referral base, profitability and funding, etc. Although there are few sportsmedicine clinics specifically for children, many facilities provide experienced personnel in existing clinics to care for young athletes.