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

Objective:An emergency action plan (EAP) is a written docu-ment detailing the preparations and on-site emergency responseof health care professionals and other stakeholders to medicalemergencies in the prehospital setting. The EAP is developed toaddress any type of catastrophic injury response and should notbe condition specific. The objective of this National Athletic Train-ers' Association position statement is to provide evidence-basedand consensus-based recommendations for developing andimplementing an EAP for sports settings.Methods:These recommendations were developed by a mul-tidisciplinary expert panel that performed (1) a comprehensivereview of existing EAP evidence, (2) a modified Delphi process todefine consensus recommendations, and (3) a strength of recom-mendation taxonomy determination for each recommendation.Results:An EAP is an essential tool designed to facilitateemergency preparedness and an efficient, coordinated emergencyresponse during an athletic event. A comprehensive EAPshould consider modes to optimize patient outcomes, the vari-ous stakeholders needed to develop the plan, the factorsinfluencing effective implementation of the EAP, and the rolesand responsibilities to ensure a structured response to a cata-strophic injury.Conclusions:These evidence-informed recommendationsoutline the necessary steps for emergency planning and provideconsiderations for the immediate management of patientswith catastrophic injuries. Increasing knowledge and imple-mentation of the EAP to manage patients with catastrophicinjuries improves the overall response and decreases errorsduring an emergency