Perceptions of clinical athletic trainers on the spiritual care of injured athletes

Treating both the body and the mind of an injured or ill patient is accepted as necessary for full healing to occur. However, treating the spiritual needs of the patient has less consensus. To determine the perceptions and practices of certified athletic trainers (ATs) working in the college/univers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of athletic training 2011-05, Vol.46 (3), p.303-311
Main Authors: McKnight, Cynthia M, Juillerat, Stephanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Athletes - psychology
Athletic Coaches
Athletic Injuries - psychology
Beliefs
Data Collection
Death & dying
Female
Holistic Health
Humans
Individual Characteristics
Informed Consent
Male
Nursing
Occupational Therapy
Original Research
Outcome Measures
Patients
Perceptions
Religious Factors
Researchers
Resistance (Psychology)
Spiritual Therapies
Spirituality
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching Methods
Treatment Outcome
Universities
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Summary:Treating both the body and the mind of an injured or ill patient is accepted as necessary for full healing to occur. However, treating the spiritual needs of the patient has less consensus. To determine the perceptions and practices of certified athletic trainers (ATs) working in the college/university setting pertaining to spiritual care of the injured athlete. Cross-sectional study. A survey instrument was e-mailed to a stratified random sample of 2000 ATs at 4-year colleges and universities. Five hundred sixty-four. We measured the ATs' perceptions and practices related to spiritual care for athletes. We found that 82.4% of respondents agreed that addressing spiritual concerns could result in more positive therapeutic outcomes for athletes; however, 64.3% disagreed that ATs are responsible for providing the spiritual care. Positive correlations were found between personal spirituality and items favoring implementing spiritual care. Athletic trainers have a conceptual appreciation of the importance of spiritual care for athletes, but the practicalities of how to define, acquire skills in, and practice spiritual care are unresolved.
ISSN:1062-6050
1938-162X
DOI:10.4085/1062-6050-46.3.303