Abstract
"The present investigation aims to 1) identify indicators (i.e., behaviors) of sport injury rehabilitation adherence that are relevant to collegiate athletic training and 2) develop a preliminary rehabilitation adherence measure for athletic training (RAdMAT) based on these indicators. Three steps are included in the development of the RAdMAT. First, certified athletic trainers currently practicing in the collegiate setting (n=7) identified clinically relevant indicators of sport injury rehabilitation adherence and these indicators were used to generate preliminary items for the measure. Second, an expert panel (i.e., sport injury/rehabilitation researchers, athletic training educators/faculty/staff) (n=12) reviewed the preliminary items and provided feedback pertaining to content and clarity of items. Expert ratings were used to revise the draft measure and provide an initial assessment of content validity. In step three, the 25-item preliminary RAdMAT was administered to a larger sample of certified athletic trainers to provide data for initial reliability and validity analyses (n=164). Results indicate the preliminary 25-item RAdMAT had good internal consistency but factor analyses reduced the measure to 16 items and suggested three sub-scales (attendance/participation, communication, attitude/effort). The resulting 16-item RAdMAT subscales and total all have good internal consistency and clearly discriminate among adherence levels. All individual items have good item-total correlations and contribute to internal consistency of their respective subscales and the total and all items discriminate among adherence levels. The RAdMAT has both a conceptual base and a base in clinical athletic training practice that make it particularly relevant and appropriate for use in athletic training settings. With only 16 items in a simple format, the RAdMAT is also relatively easy to use, whether by athletic trainers in clinical practice or for research purposes. Future investigations are needed to further establish the measure's psychometric properties and usefulness in research and practice."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.