Athletic Trainers' Psychosocial Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Research Study

Context

Despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, athletic programs have sought ways to persevere and deliver sport programming. This process has strained the psychosocial health of all sport stakeholders, but especially those entrusted with promoting the health of participants and enforcing safety protocols. Athletic trainers (ATs) have made a major impact in striving towards these goals by expanding their typical roles to lead the way in promoting the safe delivery of sport programs.

Objective

To examine the psychosocial lived experiences of ATs as they practiced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design

Qualitative

Setting

NCAA Division I, II, and III

Patients or Other Participants

27 ATs practicing at the collegiate level (Division I, II, and III) who were actively involved in planning and implementing return-to-sport protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data Collection and Analysis

Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Inductive conventional content analysis identified emerging themes that characterized participants' narratives. Three members of the research team participated in the analysis process and utilized field notes, continuous member checking, peer-review, and multiple researcher triangulation to establish data credibility and confirmability.

Results

Analysis yielded three higher order themes related to ATs' psychosocial lived experiences: 1) Internalized Experience; 2) Interpersonal Interactions; 3) AT Identity. Several sub-themes were also identified to further organize elements that characterized or differentiated participants' lived experiences.

Conclusions

This study revealed that ATs experienced significant challenges in maintaining their psychosocial health during the pandemic as they strived to assist others in this regard.

Providing effective psychological and social support resources and strategies for ATs may allow them to not only better support themselves, but also may enhance their ability to deliver professional services and promote psychosocial health among their athletes and other stakeholders within their respective sport systems in the future.