Experiences and attitudes of collegiate athletic trainers regarding alcohol-related unintentional injury in athletes.

CONTEXT: Alcohol-related unintentional injury (ARUI) has been an unexamined consequence of alcohol consumption by collegiate athletes. It has a potentially devastating effect on their athletic performances and careers. Awareness of this problem in athletes could have a huge effect on what athletic trainers (ATs) do to recognize, treat, and prevent it in a collegiate athlete population.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the experiences and attitudes among collegiate and university ATs about ARUI in the athletes in their care.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Web-based survey.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1767 e-mail addresses for collegiate and university ATs within National Athletic Trainers' Association Districts 1, 2, 3, and 9.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We calculated frequencies, percentages, and attitudes of ATs regarding ARUI in collegiate athletes during the 2010-2011 academic year.

RESULTS: The resulting sample size for the analysis was 459 (26.0%) participants of the initial total sample. More than 56% (n = 260) of the ATs reported that they had evaluated, treated, or referred if needed at least 1 ARUI in a collegiate athlete. On average, these ATs had evaluated, treated, or referred if needed 3 alcohol-related unintentional injuries within the 2010-2011 academic year. About 73% (n = 331) of ATs agreed that ARUI is a serious problem. Nearly 80% (n = 358) indicated they believe ATs should receive more training to identify student-athletes with alcohol-related problems.

CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol-related unintentional injury is a common and serious consequence of alcohol use among collegiate athletes. Many ATs also view it as a serious problem yet would like more training in how to address it. Alcohol-related unintentional injury may have important negative effects on the careers and athletic performances of athletes. Researchers need to determine how prevalent ARUI is in the collegiate athlete population and what ATs can do to address it.