Athletic Trainers' Knowledge Regarding Airway Adjuncts

Abstract

Context Research suggests that knowledge gaps regarding the appropriate use of airway adjuncts exist among various health care practitioners, and that knowledge is especially limited within athletic training. Objective To determine the relationship between perceived knowledge (PK) and actual knowledge (AK) of airway adjunct use and the difference in PK after AK assessment. Design Knowledge assessment. Patients or Other Participants Two thousand athletic trainers received the survey via e-mail; 152 (7.6%) responded. Intervention(s) The AK assessment included 7 items based on the use and implementation of airway adjuncts based on the National Athletic Trainers' Association educational competencies. Perceived knowledge was measured using a well-established PK questionnaire, which also included 1 item to rate likelihood to pursue continuing education (CE). Main Outcome Measure(s) Perceived knowledge was compared pre- and posttest. Our demographic variables assessed how often lifesaving skills were used. We used total scores of the AK assessment to measure AK. We employed dependent t tests to determine the pre- and posttest differences in PK and likelihood to pursue CE. We used a correlation analysis to determine the relationship between PK and AK. We calculated separate analyses of variance to determine differences in AK between the frequencies of lifesaving skill use. Results We identified no significant change (t150 = −0.91, P = .37, 95% confidence interval = −0.17 to 0.06) in likelihood to pursue CE. Greater PK was weakly associated with greater AK (r = 0.36, P < .001). We found a significant difference (F1,145 = 4.63, P = .03, effect size = 0.031, 1 − β = 0.57) between the frequency of use of lifesaving skills and AK. Conclusion We identified a knowledge gap among athletic trainers in the use of airway adjuncts. Although the likelihood to pursue CE score was high, the score did not significantly increase after completing the assessment. Participants who use lifesaving skills more frequently scored higher on the AK assessment, suggesting that the more frequently athletic trainers utilize a skill, the more knowledgeable they are.