Assessment of the Need for Certified Athletic Trainers and the Perception of Athletic Trainers' Roles Among School Administrators and Interscholastic Sports Coaches at the High School Level in Japan

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the perceived need for certified Ats and the perception of Ats' roles among school administrators and coaches at the high school level in Japan. Methods: 1,776 public high schools and 866 private high schools were selected to answer a web-based survey distributed via e-mail. Results: 4 out of 99 schools has a certified AT, and 22 coaches had at least 1 certified AT for the team(s) they coached. 65.6% of school administrators and 71.8% of coaches who did not have a certified AT indicated the need for certified ATs. There was a significant positive correlation between the perceived importance of having certified ATs and the understanding of ATs roles in all 3 groups (all participants: r=0.459, p=0.01, only school administrators: r=0.483, p=0.01, and only coaches: r=0.457, p=0.01). Conclusion: Increasing awareness of ATs' qualifications and the benefits of having a certified AT is an important step to increase the need for certified ATs and improve the employment opportunity in the future.