Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Wood, Tyler A.

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KNPE)

Abstract

Behavioral health concerns among adolescents and young adults have increased in recent years, placing greater expectations on athletic trainers (ATs) to recognize and respond to these conditions in clinical practice. Although accreditation standards require behavioral health competencies within professional athletic training education, variability may exist in how faculty are prepared to teach this content. This study examined athletic training faculty preparation for teaching behavioral health, how programs implement and assess behavioral health content, and faculty perceptions of student satisfaction with behavioral health education.

Consensual qualitative research method was used. Eleven athletic training faculty (9 females, 2 males; age = 37.91 ± 5.1 years) from 10 institutions who instruct behavioral health content within professional athletic training programs participated. Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via video conferencing by one investigator, transcribed verbatim, and reviewed for accuracy. Three researchers independently reviewed transcripts, met to develop a codebook, and applied the codebook to confirm codes, themes, and data saturation. A fourth researcher served as an external auditor and confirmed the findings following a structured four-phase analysis.

Faculty preparation to teach behavioral health reflected formal training and informal learning experiences. Formal preparation included continuing education, certifications, and coursework related to behavioral health, while informal preparation included collaboration with other health care professionals, self-directed learning, and experiential professional opportunities. Participants described implementing behavioral health content through a range of instructional strategies, including lectures, discussions, written assignments, and simulation-based learning such as standardized patients, case studies, and scenarios. Assessment methods included quizzes, examinations, preceptor evaluations, and structured rubrics. Despite these instructional efforts, faculty identified barriers including limited resources, time constraints, and challenges related to the timing or delivery.

Faculty also described mixed perceptions of student satisfaction and engagement with behavioral health content. Some students underestimated the importance of behavioral health, particularly when they perceived limited emphasis on the Board of Certification exam. However, faculty noted that applied instructional strategies, including role-playing and standardized patients, increased student engagement and perceived relevance.

Collectively, these findings indicate that behavioral health education in professional athletic training programs is shaped by both faculty initiative and structural constraints within academic programs. Variability in faculty preparation, curricular design, and available resources may contribute to differences in how behavioral health competencies are delivered across programs. Strengthening faculty development opportunities, promoting intentional curricular design, and increasing institutional support may help improve the consistency and effectiveness of behavioral health education and better prepare future athletic trainers to address the complex behavioral health needs of their patients.

Extent

158 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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