Athletic Trainers’ Stress, Support, and External Pressures when Making Clinical Decisions

Authors

Stephanie Carr, University of LynchburgFollow
Meredith Madden, University of Southern MaineFollow
Meredith Kneavel, La Salle UniversityFollow
Tom BowmanFollow

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25035/jsmahs.09.03.01

Abstract

Context: Athletic trainers (ATs) work in various settings with very different work environments and patient populations. How stress, social and organizational support, and external pressures alter athletic training decision-making remains unknown. Objective: Determine the relationship between workplace stress, social support, and organizational support for ATs who are providing healthcare. Design: Concurrent mixed methods. Setting: Online survey. Patients or Other Participants: 275 (7% response rate; 76 females, 44 males, 1 third gender/self-identify, 154 wished not to disclose; age=36.80±11.9 years, experience =13.65±12.55 years) athletic trainers. Interventions: The size (SSQ-N) and quality (SSQ-Q) components of the social support scale (SSQ) and the perceived organizational support scale (POSS) served as the independent variables. Main Outcome Measures: The perceived stress scale (PSS) served as the dependent variable in our multiple stepwise linear regression model. We also analyzed several qualitative questions using a general inductive approach with multianalyst triangulation and peer review as credibility strategies. Results: The combination of the POSS and SSQ-N scores explained 32.4% of the variance among PSS scores (F_2,144=34.496, p145=-3.115, p=.002) and SSQ-N (t₁₄₅=-5.687, p145=-.917, p=.361). Consistent with the quantitative findings and adding to the richness of the data, there were 2 themes across open-ended questions: stress and support mechanisms. Conclusions: Participants with higher organizational and social support reported lower levels of stress illustrating the importance of supportive environments. Although some participants explained that no factors alter their clinical decision making, others noted various stakeholders increased stress levels. Additional stakeholders (family, friends, fellow ATs) provided support for ATs during stressful times.

Recommended Citation

Carr, Stephanie; Madden, Meredith; Kneavel, Meredith; and Bowman, Tom (2024) "Athletic Trainers’ Stress, Support, and External Pressures when Making Clinical Decisions," Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association: Vol. 9: Iss. 3, Article 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/jsmahs.09.03.01
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jsmahs/vol9/iss3/1

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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