Deaflympians' Satisfaction With Athletic Training Services at the 2013 Deaflympic Summer Games

Athletic trainers have the opportunity to treat unique populations. Determining athletes' satisfaction with the athletic training services supplied can offer insights into how to improve the health care provided to athletes.

To explore Deaflympians' satisfaction with athletic training services at the 2013 Deaflympic Summer Games.

Cross-sectional survey.

The 2013 Deaflympic Summer Games in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Of the 115 Deaflympians contacted, 55 completed the questionnaire, for a 48% response rate (women = 33, men = 22).

The Medical Interview Satisfaction Survey-Athletic Training was used. The questionnaire gathered demographic data and included 25 Likert-scale items that assessed 6 components of athletic training. Descriptive statistics were calculated as normalized scores to adjust for the different numbers of questions for each item. On a 5-point scale, the scores ranged from 3.82 (management) to 4.24 (environment), with an overall satisfaction score of 3.89. We conducted comparison tests to assess possible differences in overall satisfaction and satisfaction components. Satisfaction with frequency of use of the athletic training room and knowledge were the only areas that showed statistically significant differences. Other differences were in perceptions of medical coverage among age groups and management between sexes.

Satisfaction with the athletic training services provided was lower among these Deaflympians than among collegiate athletes in other studies. However, we observed no differences in overall satisfaction scores by age, sex, race, previous Deaflympic experience, or individual or team sport. Deaflympians who used and visited the athletic training facility more often had higher overall satisfaction scores than individuals who used and visited the facility less.

Deaflympians were satisfied with the athletic training services provided at the 2013 Deaflympic Summer Games.