Sports Medicine Physicians' Comfort and Confidence in Caring for Adaptive Athletes: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Study

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived ability of sports medicine physicians to effectively treat and manage the preventative and rehabilitative care of adaptive athletes.

Exploratory mixed-methods, survey-based study.

Online, United States.

The survey was conducted using a sample of 2728 physicians. A total of 286 responded to the invitation and the response rate was 10% (286 of 2728). One hundred thirty (45.5%) of 286 physicians completed the survey.

Survey.

Knowledge of adaptive athlete care and perceived confidence.

Most respondents were willing to accept adaptive athletes into their clinical practice, and there were no significant associations between their willingness and if (χ 2 = 5.487, P = 0.139) or at what point (χ 2 = 4.463, P = 0.878) they received education about adaptive athletes. Those who received education about adaptive athletes during training reported feeling moderately to very confident in caring for adaptive athletes in an outpatient setting (χ 2 = 36.906, P < 0.001). When considering the areas of knowledge lacking to appropriately manage a competitive adaptive athlete, multiple areas named as deficits were identified. Themes centered on increasing hands-on experience, understanding of the adaptive athlete's disability and its impact on participation in adaptive sports, the physical demand of adaptive sports, and equipment.

Our results indicate that most physicians are willing to accept adaptive athletes into their practice; however, they acknowledge more education and training is needed to feel comfortable and confident when working with this population. Further educational interventions are needed to ensure equitable care for adaptive athletes.