National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Emergency Action Plan Development and Implementation in Sport

This NATA position statement, led by Samantha Scarneo-Miller, updates NATA's 2002 guidance on emergency planning for athletic trainers in sports settings. A multidisciplinary panel reviewed the evidence and used a modified Delphi process, and each recommendation carries a strength-of-recommendation grade.

It defines an emergency action plan as a written document for the on-site, prehospital response to any catastrophic injury or illness, and says the plan should not be specific to one condition. Recommendations are grouped under optimizing patient outcomes, developing the plan, implementing it and responding to an emergency.

It calls for a written plan for every sponsored activity, tailored to each venue and sport, with a designated coordinator, a clear chain of command and input from an interdisciplinary team including emergency services. Because emergencies can happen when no athletic trainer is present, it stresses that programs should not rely only on health care staff to carry out the plan, and it asks athletic associations to provide educational resources for lay responders.