Faculty Publications

Identifying Meaningful Patient Outcomes After Lower Extremity Injury, Part 1: Patient Experiences During Recovery

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Evidence-based practice, Health-related quality of life, Patient values, Patient-centered care, Qualitative research

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Athletic Training

Volume

54

Issue

8

First Page

858

Last Page

868

Abstract

Context: Determining meaningful aspects of health is crucial for outcome assessment; however, limited literature exists on the aspects of health that are deemed meaningful by the athletic patient population. Objective: To identify experiences and meaningful outcomes after lower extremity (LE) musculoskeletal injury among collegiate athletes. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: University laboratory Patients or Other Participants: A purposive sample of 20 athletes (10 men, 10 women; age ¼ 20.1 6 1.83 years) from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution in the Midwest who had sustained an LE injury. Data Collection and Analysis: Semistructured face-to-face interviews and inductive data analysis were conducted. Trustworthiness of the data was established using member checks and peer debriefing. Results: Four themes emerged from the data, revealing that physical changes, psychological changes, personal and lifestyle changes, and support were the most meaningful outcomes among athletes with an LE injury. The 4 themes were associated with 21 subthemes, indicating the complexity with which LE injury affects individuals Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the importance of caring for the whole person. Athletic trainers must broaden their focus to provide the best patient care and consider the person’s activities and life demands outside of athletic participation. The themes identified in this study provide a basis for selecting appropriate health markers and outcome measures.

Original Publication Date

1-1-2019

DOI of published version

10.4085/1062-6050-232-18

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

Link to Full Text

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