Clinical Care of Masters Athletes: A Health Needs Assessment
Abstract
Little is known about the current state of clinical care that Masters Athletes (MAs) receive, their perceptions, and whether they meet their health needs. A 22-item online health needs assessment (HNA) survey was conducted to investigate the characteristics of clinical care received by MAs and determine their perceived health needs. 80 MAs completed our survey. In assessing three key categories of care, less than 40% of MAs reported receiving Pre-Participation Evaluation (PPE), Medical Monitoring, and Injury Management as part of their standard routine care. Dissatisfied MAs reported unmet needs due to a lack of educated clinicians, lack of accessibility to resources, poor clinician attitudes and limited support. MAs perceived health needs were cited to be education for their clinicians, increased accessibility to resources, individualized care, improved clinician attitudes, collaborative care, and frequent health assessments and preventive strategies. These findings identify and priorities factors to improve future clinical care in MAs.