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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
A Neuroscientific Approach to the Examination of Concussions in Student-Athletes
Published on: December 8, 2014
Characteristics of Athletic Trainers That Influence Personal Subjectivity in Medical Disqualification From Sport
Michelle L Weber Rawlins1, Kimberly Detwiler1, Tamara C Valovich McLeod2,3
1School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, CA.
Context:
Patients may be considering stopping sport participation due to concussions with limited evidence to guide this decision. Athletic trainers (ATs) may play a role in discussions about pre-medical disqualification (MDQ). However, their personal subjectivity may influence when to discuss MDQ following concussion, and this has not been examined.
Objective:
To determine if AT personal subjectivity for MDQ following concussion differed between gender, years of experience, or division.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Online survey.
Patients Or Other Participants:
Five hundred two AT participants (average age = 35.3 ± 10.8 years; females = 235/502, 46.8%; males = 175/502, 34.9%, prefer not to respond = 4/502, 0.8%; and no response = 88/502, 17.5%).
Main Outcome Measures:
Gender, years of experience, and division were independent variables, whereas social factors (3 items), perceived athlete's potential for success (5 items), and number of concussions sustained before MDQ is recommended (1 item) were dependent variables. We calculated separate Mann-Whitney U tests for gender, with Kruskal-Wallis tests for employment division and each individual item. We calculated Spearman rho correlations to determine relationships between years of experience and items. We utilized a Bonferroni correction of 0.006 for multiple comparisons.
Results:
We observed few differences in personal subjectivity between gender, years of experience, and division. When we observed differences between genders and employment divisions, ATs perceived that factors would have no or less influence. Athletic trainers with more experience perceived that fewer numbers of concussions should be sustained before MDQ following concussion would be recommended (P < .001).
Conclusions:
The personal subjectivity of ATs in our sample largely did not differ between gender, years of experience, or employment division. These results indicate that ATs are likely considering the patient holistically and with other factors to determine when sport participation is no longer recommended.
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