Sport-Related Catastrophic Traumatic Injury and Access to Preventative and Emergency Resources in High Schools

Abstract

Prevention and management of catastrophic traumatic injury relies on the implementation of evidence-based practices as well as early recognition and treatment of injury. The study purpose was to understand access to preventative and emergency resources in high schools and determine differences in access to these resources between schools with previous reported catastrophic traumatic injuries and those without and by whether the injury was fatal or nonfatal. 224 high schools with a previous injury and 2240 control schools were invited to complete a survey regarding access to emergency and preventive resources: 135 schools participated. Publicly available databases were utilized to assess access to resources and school socio-economic status. Differences in access to emergency and preventative resources was associated with history of previous catastrophic injury event and severity of the injury. Access to athletic training services, NATA Safe Sport Award designation, and higher school socioeconomic status was associated with lower injury severity.Master of Art