Adoption of Emergency Action Plans in Secondary Schools: A Study of School Nurses' Knowledge and Behavior

BACKGROUND The adoption of an emergency action plan for athletics (AEAP) minimizes the consequences of injuries. School nurses may play an important role in the adoption of an AEAP. The purpose of our study was to describe school nurse's knowledge and perceptions related to AEAP adoption. METHODS An online survey, following the Precaution-Adoption Process Model, examining respondents' readiness to act, was distributed to 1228 school nurses to evaluate their knowledge and perception of an AEAP, with N = 131 (10.6%) responding. RESULTS Sixty-one school nurses were unaware of AEAP adoption at their school. A lack of athletic training services at the school was associated with not adopting an AEAP. The most frequently reported barrier to adopting an AEAP related to finances. When nurses reported perceiving more barriers to adopting an AEAP, their schools were less likely to adopt one. CONCLUSIONS A large number of nurses were unaware if their school adopted an AEAP. There is a need to improve nurses' knowledge and perceptions to promote AEAP development.