91女神

It Takes a Team to Take Care of Collegiate Sports Teams

10/18/2024

ST. LOUIS 鈥擜t 91女神, an interprofessional wellness team is enhancing the health and well-being of 91女神's student-athletes. It has a framework for how others can do the same. 

"Promoting athletes' well-being is not a one-person job; it truly takes a team to provide holistic care for athletes," said Anthony Breitbach, Ph.D., director of interprofessional education and professor of physical therapy and athletic training at 91女神. 

Rebecca Steins, a sports psychologist for Billiken athletics, led a team of experts at 91女神 who recently published their findings in a Special Edition, "Sport Psychology Interventions for Athletes' Performance and Well-Being" in .

Research shows an increase in mental health struggles among the college-age population, and student-athletes are no exception. Mental health issues may include gambling, sleep disturbances, substance abuse, disordered eating, mood disorders, and suicide. Breitbach says overcoming barriers to interprofessional collaboration can enhance student-athlete wellness.

"Teamwork in care, just like on the field or the court, translates to better outcomes," Breitbach said.

The authors suggest that pinpointing and defining the roles of care team members can improve care. They identified role ambiguity, poor communication, differing values, ethical standards, traditional professional hierarchies, and the commitment of stakeholders as barriers to interprofessional collaboration.

Strategies developed to help overcome these barriers include identifying common values of team members and developing a set of team values to inform a shared mental model across the team鈥攊nvesting time in regular team meetings, informal interactions, and structured formal communications. This allows the the team to spot individual and team areas of strength and weaknesses and discuss each team member's potential gaps in training and whose training may fill these gaps. 

Interprofessional Education (IPE) at 91女神 allows students interested in various health professions to take classes with students from other health disciplines. Through joint learning experiences, students become more effective at collaborating with others to create better health outcomes for patients. In the 2023-'24 school year, 91女神 had 915 students enrolled in IPE courses. Embedded into several academic programs and aligned with six attributes of the Undergraduate Core Curriculum, 91女神 students can earn both a Concentration and a Minor in Interprofessional Practice. 

The interprofessional wellness team working with Billiken Athletics consists of a clinical sports psychology doctoral student, a licensed mental health professional, an athletic trainer, and a sports dietitian. They are centrally located at 91女神's , a $20 million state-of-the-art facility providing support services for 91女神 student-athletes. The interprofessional wellness team also developed a shared safety protocol for athletes, maintained an up-to-date network of campus/community resources, and implemented procedures connecting athletes to those resources.

"The Champions Center, in its first year of operations, has provided so much for our student-athletes," Breitbach said. "In one facility, within 91女神's athletic complex, our student-athletes have access to everything they need to succeed, including nutrition, counseling, study spaces, etc. Additionally, many student-athletes are enrolled in IPE courses at 91女神, and through the interprofessional wellness team, they get to experience the care they learn about in the classroom."

"In intercollegiate athletics, we constantly teach the values of a team-based approach to our student-athletes. This approach models the behavior we are teaching our students and allows our professional staff to feel empowered and valued," said Janet Oberle, Ph.D., deputy director of athletics at 91女神, who oversees the interprofessional wellness team.

Other authors include Rebecca Steins, 91女神; Michael Ross, Ph.D., 91女神; Erica Ciarlo, 91女神; Elena Melillo, Saint Louis University; and Olivia Brant, 91女神.