The Intersection of Athletic Training and Public Health

In this special section of the Journal of Athletic Training, we highlight innovative examples of how athletic trainers (ATs) are applying traditional public health approaches to some of the most pressing issues in our profession. Although the intersection of athletic training and public health may not be readily apparent to all readers, the link between these disciplines becomes obvious when the standard practices of ATs are juxtaposed against the broad definition of public health.

Per the American Public Health Association, “public health promotes and protects the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play” through injury and illness prevention combined with the promotion of wellness through the practicing of healthy behaviors.¹ Many ATs may not view themselves as contributing to public health, but we work to prevent injuries and illness and promote healthy behaviors, all activities consistent with promoting public health. In addition to these preventive efforts, ATs have a rich history in injury surveillance, which falls squarely in the traditional public health subdiscipline of epidemiology.² More than 3 decades ago, ATs started participating in the tracking of athletic injuries; today, ATs collect and report detailed injury data via sophisticated networks. The data that ATs have collected and continue to collect serve as the building blocks of epidemiologic studies that provide evidence for policies and programs to improve athlete safety, or in the language of public health, protect the health of the people we serve.^3,4

Although athletic training and public health clearly intersect, it is important to note that public health has traditionally focused on addressing the needs of a community through the use of population-based approaches. However, outside of the AT's role in injury surveillance, population-based approaches in athletic training have historically been minimal, as athletic training research and practice tend to be heavily skewed toward treating individuals. Recognizing this limitation and with the support of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, we convened the “Athletic Training and Public Health Summit” on the campus of Oregon State University in 2015.⁵ This summit was one of the first tangible steps taken by our profession to (1) promote population-based approaches that could positively affect athletic training and (2) foster connections among practitioners, educators, and researchers from traditional athletic training and public health backgrounds.

Since that summit, the use of population-based approaches to address concerns relevant to athletic training has blossomed. In this issue on athletic training and public health, you will find examples of ATs who are not only contributing to injury surveillance but who have embraced other population-based approaches when evaluating diverse topics including cost effectiveness, health disparities, health policy, health promotion and behavior, injury prevention, and patient-reported outcomes. We hope this collection of work contributes to an improved understanding of the vital role that population-based approaches can play in demonstrating the importance and value of athletic training services and, ultimately, enhancing the health and wellbeing of the populations we serve.