Athletic Trainers' Observations of Social Determinants of Health in the College Setting
Document Type
Poster
Abstract
Context: Social determinants of health (SDH) are defined as the conditions in which people are born, live, work, play, worship, and age, that affect and individual’s overall health, well-being, and quality of life. SDH can influence a person’s health and quality of life yet often fail to be addressed in the United States healthcare system. Addressing SDH in all populations can improve patient outcomes, leading to better patient centered care. Despite the known effects SDH have on the global healthcare community, less is known about how SDH present in athletic healthcare. Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore athletic trainers’ (ATs) observations of SDH at the point of care at the collegiate/university setting. Design: Cross-sectional card study. Setting: Various collegiate athletic training facilities. Participants: ATs employed in the collegiate/university setting. Main Outcome Measure: ATs recorded observations on a standardized card. Results: 324 cards were collected from 17 different participants, across 14 different colleges/universities. 472 SDH were observed, with 36.8% (n=174/472) perceived to have a negative impact on the patient’s health. The top three SDH observed were access to social media, academic stressors, and behavioral health issues. Behavioral health issues, transportation issues, and academic stressors were the top three SDH that had a negative impact on patient health. Conclusions: This study preliminarily indicates that SDH are being observed by ATs in the collegiate setting. A significant amount of SDH observed were deemed to have a negative influence on patient health. It is important that ATs are accurately and consistently assessing SDH in their patients, and how they affect their patient’s lives, to promote better patient centered care and improve patient outcomes.
Publication Date
Spring 2022
Recommended Citation
Evans Windsor, Cassidy, "Athletic Trainers' Observations of Social Determinants of Health in the College Setting" (2022). DAT Applied Research Projects Spring 2022. 2.
https://scholarworks.atsu.edu/ashs-dat-applied-research-projects-spring2022/2
Comments
Poster presented at ATSU-ASHS DAT Spring - 2022. This is a Kubify based presentation hosted at https://api.ltb.io/show/ABLEJ It includes a video presentation, references, a PowerPoint presentation, and summary poster.