Context

Having athletic trainers (ATs) employed at secondary schools is associated with improved preparedness for sport-related emergencies. Utilization of emergency medical services (EMS) with different access to athletic training services remains unknown.

Objective

Compare the incidence of EMS activations for sport-related injuries between zip-codes with varying access to athletic training services.

Design

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Setting

Data were obtained from the National EMS Information System and the Athletic Training Location and Services Project.

Patients or Other Participants

Zip-codes where 9-1-1 EMS activations for sport-related injuries among individuals 13–18 years old occurred.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Incidence of EMS activations, athletic training service level (NONE, PART, FULL), athletic training employment model (independent contractor, IC; medical or university facility, MUF; school district, SD; mixed employment models, MIX) for each zip-code.

Results

There were 2.8±3.5 EMS activations per zip-code (range 1–81, n=4,923). Among zip-codes where at least 1 AT was employed (n=2,228), 3.73% (n=83) were IC, 30.83% (n=687) were MIX, 27.24% (n=607) were SD, and 38.20% (n=851) were MUF. Compared to SD, MUF had a 10.8% lower incidence of EMS activations (95%CI: 0.817, 0.974, p=0.010). IC (IRR: 0.920, 95%CI: 0.758, 1.118, p=0.403) and MIX (IRR: 0.996, 95% CI: 0.909, 1.091, p=0.932) were not significantly different from SD. Service level was calculated for 3,834 zip-codes, with 19.5% (n=746) NONE, 46.2% (n=1,771) PART, and 34.4% (n=1,317) FULL. Compared to NONE, FULL (IRR: 1.416, 95%CI: 1.308, 1.532, p<0.001) and PART (IRR: 1.368, 95%CI: 1.268, 1.476, p<0.001) had higher incidences of EMS activations.

Conclusions

Local access to athletic training services is associated with an increased utilization of EMS for sport-related injuries among secondary school aged individuals, potentially indicative of improved identification and triage of sport-related emergencies the area. The difference in EMS utilization between employment models may represent the presence of different policies and procedures for sport-related emergencies.

prehospital, ambulance, athlete, secondary school, youth
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