ATSU Faculty Research

Health disparities are prevalent concerns in the United States and a frequent topic of conversation in the public health realm. Causes of health disparities include social inequities and social determinants of health. Although social determinants of health have been suggested to contribute more to individual and
population health than the health care provided, this concept in athletic health care has received little attention. Therefore, the purpose of our article was to describe social determinants of health, present examples of social determinants, and discuss actionable steps for the athletic training profession to become
more culturally proficient. By increasing the awareness of and acknowledging social determinants of health, athletic trainers will be positioned to improve patient outcomes more readily and contribute to ongoing conversations at the policy level of health care.

This survey based worked produced two manuscripts. Few athletic trainers (ATs) reported being extremely familiar (4%), comfortable (4%), or knowledgeable (3%) about SDH. Most described moderate familiarity (45%), comfort (35%), and knowledge (37%), while roughly one-third reported minimal familiarity or comfort. Over half accurately identified most SDH categories, and nearly all agreed SDH influence patient health and are relevant to athletic healthcare. ATs most commonly encountered lifestyle choices, social support, income, and healthcare access, while governmental policy was least frequently experienced. The perceived importance of SDH among ATs and their commonly reported experiences managing patient cases in which SDH negatively influence patients’ health and healthcare suggest that efforts to assess these factors are needed so that strategies to address their influence on athletic healthcare can be identified.

These observational card studies were conducted in the secondary school setting and in the collegiate setting to explore the SDH athletic trainers were observing at the point-of-care.