title: Athletic Trainer Services in US Private Secondary Schools.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Availability of athletic trainer (AT) services in US secondary schools has recently been reported to be as high as 70%, but this only describes the public sector. The extent of AT coverage in private secondary school settings has yet to be investigated and may differ from the public secondary school setting for several reasons, including differences in funding sources.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the level of AT services in US private secondary schools and identify the reasons why some schools did not employ ATs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Concurrent mixed-methods study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Private secondary schools in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 5414 private secondary schools, 2044 (38%) responded to the survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  School administrators responded to the survey via telephone or e-mail. This instrument was previously used in a study examining AT services among public secondary schools. Descriptive statistics provided national data. Open-ended questions were evaluated through content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 2044 schools that responded, 58% (1176/2044) offered AT services, including 28% (574/2040) full time, 25% (501/2042) part time, 4% (78/1918) per diem, and 20% (409/2042) from a hospital or clinic. A total of 84% (281 285/336 165) of athletes had access to AT services. Larger private secondary schools were more likely to have AT services available. Barriers to providing AT services in the private sector were budgetary constraints, school size and sports, and lack of awareness of the role of an AT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More than half of the surveyed private secondary schools in the United States had AT services available; however, only 28% had a full-time AT. This demonstrates the need for increased medical coverage to provide athletes in this setting the appropriate level of care. Budgetary concerns, size of the school and sport offerings, and lack of awareness of the role of the AT continued to be barriers in the secondary school setting.
authors.affiliation: Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pike
authors.affiliation: Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.|Central California Sports Sciences Institute, California State University, Fresno.
authors.forename: Riana R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Pryor
authors.affiliation: Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mazerolle
authors.affiliation: Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stearns
authors.affiliation: Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Douglas J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Casa
mesh_terms: D002017:Budgets; D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D017149:Private Sector; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013177:Sports / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: athletes; athletic trainers; high school; medical coverage; sports