Development of a measure of rehabilitation adherence for athletic training.

CONTEXT Rehabilitation adherence is accepted as a critical component for attaining optimal outcomes. Poor adherence is recognized as a problem in the athletic training setting. Measurement has been inconsistent, and no measure has been developed for athletic training settings. OBJECTIVE To identify indicators of sport-injury rehabilitation adherence relevant to athletic training and develop a Rehabilitation Adherence Measure for Athletic Training (RAdMAT) based on these indicators. DESIGN Mixed methods, 3 steps. SETTING College athletic training facility. PARTICIPANTS Practicing certified athletic trainers (ATCs; n=7) generated items, experts (n=12) reviewed them, and practicing ATCs (n=164) completed the RAdMAT for their most, average, and least adherent athlete. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE RAdMAT. RESULTS The RAdMAT is 16 items with 3 subscales. Subscales and total have good internal consistency and clearly discriminate among adherence levels. CONCLUSIONS The RAdMAT is based on scholarly literature and clinical practice, making it particularly appropriate for use in athletic training clinical practice or for research purposes.