ATHLETIC TRAINING EDUCATION JOURNAL ORIGINAL RESEARCH Q National Athletic Trainers’ Association www.natajournals.org ISSN: 1947-380X DOI: 10.4085/150119052 Athletic Trainers’ Knowledge Regarding Health Care Delivery Systems and Administration in the American Health Care System Lindsey E. Eberman, PhD, ATC*; Zachary K. Winkelmann, PhD, SCAT, ATC†; Jessica R. Edler, PhD, LAT, ATC‡; Elizabeth R. Neil, Phd, AT, ATC§ *Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation, Indiana State University, Terre Haute; †Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia; ‡Kinesiology and Health Promotion, Grand View University, Des Moines, IA; §Department of Sport Studies, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Context: The American health care system is dynamic and ever evolving. As athletic training continues to advance, our understanding of and the ability to integrate best practices in policy construction and implementation, documentation, and basic business practices is critical to promoting optimal patient care. Objective: To identify and compare knowledge gaps of clinicians and educators regarding health care delivery systems and administration. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional, Web-based survey. Patients or Other Participants: Athletic trainers (N ¼ 485), representative of the national demographic of the profession (age ¼ 37 6 12 years, experience ¼ 14 6 11 years). Intervention(s): We used a multi-part assessment including a perceived knowledge questionnaire, validated knowledge assessment (21 items: knowledge retrieval [11 items], knowledge utilization [10 items]), and self-efficacy scales. Main Outcome Measure(s): We calculated the knowledge assessment total score and compared educators (n ¼ 41) and clinicians (n ¼ 444). We calculated the knowledge gap with a Spearman q correlation to determine the relationship between perceived knowledge mean and the knowledge retrieval subscore. We calculated the practice gap with a Spearman q correlation to determine the relationship between self-efficacy mean and the knowledge utilization subscore. Results: Athletic trainers scored less than 50% on a knowledge assessment (mean ¼ 10.27 6 2.41 of 21) about health care delivery systems and administration. We identified that educators scored approximately 1 point higher (11.65 6 0.4) than clinicians (10.14 6 0.11), equivalent to 7% to 10% higher on the knowledge assessment. We identified, relative to health care delivery systems and administration, a knowledge gap (Spearman q ¼ .161, P , .001) between perceived knowledge and knowledge retrieval and a practice gap (Spearman q ¼ .095, P ¼ .037) between self-efficacy and knowledge utilization. Conclusions: Athletic trainers demonstrated knowledge and practice gaps related to health care delivery systems and administration. To meet the expectations of the practice analysis and the needs of patients in today’s American health care system, we must engage in professional development in this domain of practice. Key Words: Self-efficacy, continuing education, health care executives Dr Eberman is currently Professor and Program Director in the Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation at Indiana State University. Please address correspondence to Lindsey E. Eberman, PhD, ATC, Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation, Indiana State University, 567 North 5th Street, Room A-10, Terre Haute, IN 47809. lindsey.eberman@indstate.edu. Full Citation: Eberman LE, Winkelmann ZK, Edler JR, Neil ER. Athletic trainers’ knowledge regarding health care delivery systems and administration in the American health care system. Athl Train Educ J. 2020;15(4):295–307. Athletic Training Education Journal j Volume 15 j Issue 4 j October–December 2020 295 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/atej/article-pdf/15/4/295/2695201/i1947-380x-15-4-295.pdf by guest on 06 January 2021